Maggie May: Pure music history and the beginning of a global career

‘Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you...’ – a line of lyrics that has become second nature to millions of music fans in general and Rod Stewart fans in particular. A line of lyrics that not only marks the beginning of a song, but also represents the start of one of the greatest careers in the music business.
‘Maggie May’ represents Sir Rod Stewart's global career like hardly any of his countless other hits from over six decades. Without good old Maggie, we would probably never have enjoyed ‘Baby Jane’, never sailed across the oceans in our minds to “Sailing”, or danced our first clumsy blues in our parents' party cellars to ‘I Don't Want To Talk About It’.
But Rod Stewart gave us ‘Maggie May’ and the music world one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, which has lost none of its charisma and power to this day.
When the young Rod recalled his first sexual adventure as a teenager in the early 1970s and captured this memory in the form of song lyrics, he had no idea, and probably didn't even think about it, that it would become a real hit.
The song tells the story of a schoolboy who was seduced by an older woman and wants to free himself from this relationship. According to Stewart, the lyrics are based on his own first sexual experience at the age of 16; however, the woman's name was not Maggie May. Instead, Stewart used the title of an old English folk song that the Beatles had recorded for their album ‘Let It Be’. Attentive observers will have noticed that Maggie is spelled slightly differently on the Beatles' LP: Maggie Mae.
But we digress. Rod was assisted in writing the lyrics by Martin Quittenton, a British guitarist and composer, who also played the acoustic guitar on the track. Rod's Faces mates Ian McLagan and Ronnie Wood were also in the studio. Ray Jackson (Lindisfarme) played the mandolin, Peter Sears played the celesta and Micky Walter was on drums.

Maggie May was first released in May 1971 as part of Stewart's third studio album, Every Picture Tells A Story. The song was added to the album at the last minute, as the producers at Mercury Records did not like it at first. ‘They said it had no melody,’ Rod Stewart remarked in an interview. But in the end, Maggie May still made it onto the album's nine-song track list.
Shortly afterwards, Maggie May was also released as a single – but only as the B-side to Reason To Believe.
But then there was this one radio DJ in Cleveland who, consciously or unconsciously, simply swapped sides in September 1971 and played ‘Maggie May’ instead of ‘Reason To Believe’ over the airwaves. A global hit was born.
In the weeks that followed, more and more radio stations played ‘Maggie May’ for their listeners. And that had quite an effect.
On 2 October 1971, Maggie reached the top of the US singles charts and stayed there for a full five weeks. During the same period, Sir Rod also made it to the top of the charts with his album ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’.
And the enthusiasm quickly spread across the pond. Just seven days later, ‘Maggie May’ also reached number one in the UK singles charts. Virtually overnight, Rod Stewart had become a superstar in the USA with one song and thanks to the rather unique musical taste of a DJ who is still unknown today.
And ‘Maggie May’ became a bestseller – Stewart received a total of 12 platinum awards for the single, which has sold over 3 million copies to date. Not to mention the clicks on the various streaming portals.

For Rod Stewart, ‘Maggie May’ changed everything. "One Sunday afternoon in 1971, I was out and about in Tavistock when I heard on the radio that “Maggie May” had reached number one in the charts. I immediately turned around and drove all the way back to my parents' house on Kenwood Road and hugged them to celebrate the occasion," Stewart recalled many years later.
‘Maggie May’ has remained the global hit it became literally overnight in 1971. Even today, the song is still a must-have at any Rod Stewart concert. ‘Without Maggie May on the set list, a Rod Stewart evening wouldn't be complete,’ said a fan who recently attended a show in the United States. ‘This song is pure music history, and we wouldn't all be here today if Maggie had never existed.’

Lyrics Maggie May

Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you
It's late September and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused, but I feel I'm being used
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried anymore

You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart and that's what really hurts

The morning sun, when it's in your face, really shows your age
But that don't worry me none, in my eyes you're everything
I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn't need to coax
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried anymore

You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and that's a pain I can do without

All I needed was a friend to lend, a guiding hand
But you turned into a lover and, mother, what a lover, you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And in the morning kick me in the head
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried anymore

You led me away from home
'Cause you didn't want to be alone
You stole my heart, I couldn't leave you if I tried

I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school
Or steal my daddy's cue and make a living out of playing pool
Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin' hand
Oh Maggie, I wished I'd never seen your face

You made a first-class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart, but I love you anyway

Maggie, I wished I'd never seen your face
I'll get on back home, one of these days
Whoo-hoo-ooh!