Editing Rod Stewart (section)

===1964–1967: Steampacket and "Rod the Mod" image===
In January 1964,{{refn|group="nb"|A much-written-about happenstance, some sources give the date of the Stewart–Baldry rail station meeting as 5 January,<ref name="mojo95"/> some as 7 January (but that may be confusing it with the date of Cyril Davies' death), some imply that it is after 7 January,<ref name="Gray-8"/> while some sources give no specific date.}} while Stewart was waiting at [[Twickenham railway station]] after having seen [[Long John Baldry]] and the [[All-Stars (band)|All Stars]] at [[Eel Pie Island Hotel|Eel Pie Island]],<ref name="mojo95"/><ref name="eh-33-39">Ewbank and Hildred, ''Rod Stewart: The New Biography'', pp. 33–39.</ref><ref>Wooldridge, ''Rock 'n' Roll London'', pp. 65–66.</ref> Baldry heard him playing "[[Smokestack Lightnin']]" on his harmonica, and invited him to sit in with the group; when Baldry discovered Stewart was a singer as well, he offered him a job for £35 a week, after securing the approval of Stewart's mother.<ref name="eh-33-39"/> Quitting his day job at the age of nineteen, Stewart gradually overcame his shyness and nerves and became a visible enough part of the act that he was sometimes added to the billing as "Rod the Mod" Stewart,<ref name="nb-58"/><ref name="eh-33-39"/><ref name="Gray-8">Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', p. 8.</ref> the nickname coming from his [[dandy]]ish style of grooming and dress.<ref name="cby-375"/> Baldry touted Stewart's abilities to ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine and the group enjoyed a weekly residence at London's fabled [[Marquee Club]].<ref name="Gray-8"/> In June 1964, Stewart made his recording debut (without label credit) on "[[Up Above My Head]]", the B-side to a Baldry and Hoochie Coochie Men single.<ref name="Gray-9">Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', p. 9.</ref> While still with Baldry, Stewart embarked on a simultaneous solo career.<ref name="nb-59">Nelson and Bangs, ''Rod Stewart'', p. 59.</ref> He made some demo recordings,{{refn|group="nb"|The demo recordings <!--with?--> were later released in 1976, against Stewart's wishes.<ref name="Gray-10"/>}} was scouted by [[Decca Records]] at the Marquee Club, and signed to a solo contract in August 1964.<ref name="Gray-10">Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', pp. 10–12.</ref> He appeared on several regional television shows around the country and recorded his first single in September 1964.<ref name="nb-59"/><ref name="Gray-10"/>

Turning down Decca's recommended material as too commercial, Stewart insisted that the experienced session musicians he was given, including [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]], learn a couple of [[Sonny Boy Williamson I|Sonny Boy Williamson]] songs he had just heard.<ref>Tremlett, ''The Rod Stewart Story'', as quoted extensively in Nelson and Bangs, ''Rod Stewart'', pp. 60–61.</ref> The resulting single, "[[Good Morning Little Schoolgirl]]", was recorded and released in October 1964. Stewart performed it on the popular television show ''[[Ready Steady Go!]]'', but it did not enter the charts. Also in October, Stewart left the Hoochie Coochie Men after having a row with Baldry.<ref name="Gray-10"/>

Stewart played some dates on his own in late 1964 and early 1965, sometimes backed by the [[Southampton]] R&B outfit the Soul Agents.<ref>Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', p. 13.</ref> The Hoochie Coochie Men broke up, Baldry and Stewart patched up their differences (and became lifelong friends),<ref name="eh-41">Ewbank and Hildred, ''Rod Stewart: The New Biography'', p. 41.</ref> and music manager [[Giorgio Gomelsky]] put together [[Steampacket]], with Baldry, Stewart, [[Brian Auger]], [[Julie Driscoll]], [[Micky Waller]], [[Vic Briggs]] and [[Ricky Fenson]]; their first appearance was in support of the Rolling Stones in July 1965.<ref name="Gray-14">Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', p. 14.</ref> The group was conceived as a white soul revue, analogous to [[The Ike & Tina Turner Revue]], with multiple vocalists and styles ranging from jazz to R&B to blues.<ref name="nb-61">Nelson and Bangs, ''Rod Stewart'', p. 61.</ref> Steampacket toured with the Stones and [[the Walker Brothers]] that summer, ending in the [[London Palladium]];<ref name="nb-61"/> seeing the audience react to the Stones gave Stewart his first exposure to crowd hysteria.<ref>Pidgeon, ''Rod Stewart and the Changing Faces'', as quoted in Nelson and Bangs, ''Rod Stewart'', p. 61.</ref> Stewart, who had been included in the group upon Baldry's insistence, ended up with most of the male vocal parts.<ref name="nb-61"/> Steampacket was unable to enter the studio to record any material because its members all belonged to different labels and managers,<ref name="nb-61"/><ref name="amg-steam">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p20741|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Steampacket: Biography|website=AllMusic|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|access-date=13 February 2010}}</ref> although Gomelsky did record one of their Marquee Club rehearsals.{{refn|group="nb"|These later surfaced in 1971 as part of Gomelsky's ''Rock Generation'' releases on [[BYG Records]]; the poorly recorded material has been repackaged as ''Rod Stewart and Steampacket'' many times since.<ref name="nb-61"/><ref name="amg-steam"/>}}

Stewart's "Rod the Mod" image gained wider visibility in November 1965, when he was the subject of a 30-minute [[Associated-Rediffusion|Rediffusion, London]] television documentary titled "An Easter with Rod" that portrayed the Mod scene.<ref name="BBC04"/><ref name="Gray-15-17">Gray, ''Rod Stewart: The Visual Documentary'', pp. 15–17.</ref> His parallel solo career attempts continued on [[EMI]]'s [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia label]] with the November 1965 release of "The Day Will Come", a more heavily arranged pop attempt, and the April 1966 release of his take on [[Sam Cooke]]'s "[[Shake (Sam Cooke song)|Shake]]", with the [[Brian Auger Trinity]].<ref name="Gray-15-17"/> Both failed commercially, and neither gained positive notices.<ref>Ewbank and Hildred, ''Rod Stewart: The New Biography'', p. 56.</ref> Stewart had spent the better part of two years listening mostly to Cooke; he later said, "I didn't sound like anybody at all ... but I knew I sounded a bit like Sam Cooke, so I listened to Sam Cooke."<ref name="rs-intv-70"/> This recording solidified that singer's position as Stewart's idol and most enduring influence; he called it a "crossing of the water".<ref name="cby-375"/><ref name="rs-intv-70"/><ref name="nb-61"/>

Stewart left Steampacket in March 1966,<ref name="Gray-15-17"/> with Stewart saying he had been sacked and Auger saying he had quit.<ref name="nb-61"/> Stewart then joined a somewhat similar outfit, [[Shotgun Express]], in May 1966 as co-lead vocalist with [[Beryl Marsden]].<ref name="nb-61"/><ref name="Gray-15-17"/> The other members included [[Mick Fleetwood]] and [[Peter Green (musician)|Peter Green]] (who went on to form [[Fleetwood Mac]]), and [[Peter Bardens]].<ref name="Gray-15-17"/> Shotgun Express released one unsuccessful single in October 1966, the orchestra-heavy "I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round", before disbanding.<ref name="nb-61"/><ref name="Gray-15-17"/> Stewart later disparaged Shotgun Express as a poor imitation of Steampacket and said, "I was still getting this terrible feeling of doing other people's music. I think you can only start finding yourself when you write your own material."<ref name="Gray-15-17"/> By now, Stewart had bounced around without achieving much success, with little to distinguish himself among other aspiring London singers other than the emerging rasp in his voice.<ref name="rshist-377"/>