Editing Rod Stewart (section)

===1975–1988: Height of fame and critical reaction===
[[File:Rod-Stewart.jpg|thumb|upright|On stage in [[Dublin]], 1981]]
In 1975, Stewart moved to [[Los Angeles]]; that year, he released the ''[[Atlantic Crossing]]'' album for his new record company, using producer [[Tom Dowd]] and a different sound based on the [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section]]. ''Atlantic Crossing'' marked both a return to form and a return to the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' album charts. The first single, a cover of the [[Sutherland Brothers]] song "[[Sailing (Sutherland Brothers song)|Sailing]]", was a number-one hit in the UK, charted high in other European countries and in Australia, but only reached the Top 60 of the US and Canadian charts. The single returned to the UK Top 10 a year later when used as the theme music for a BBC documentary [[Sailor (TV series)|series]] about {{HMS|Ark Royal|R09|6}}. Having been a hit twice over, "Sailing" became, and remains, Stewart's biggest-selling single in the UK. His [[Holland-Dozier-Holland]] cover "[[This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)#Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley version|This Old Heart of Mine]]" was also a Top 100 hit in 1976.<ref name="BillboardChart"/> In 1976, Stewart covered [[the Beatles]]' song "[[Get Back]]" for the musical documentary ''[[All This and World War II]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/all-this-and-world-war-ii-r230229/review|title=All This and World War II|website=AllMusic|access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

Later in 1976, Stewart topped the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] for eight weeks and the Australian [[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]] chart with the ballad "[[Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)|Tonight's the Night]]", with an accompanying music video featuring actress [[Britt Ekland]].<ref name="BillboardChart"/> It came from the ''[[A Night on the Town (Rod Stewart album)|A Night on the Town]]'' album, which went to number two on the ''Billboard'' album charts and was Stewart's first album to go platinum. By explicitly marking the album as having a "fast side" and a "slow side", Stewart continued the trend started by ''Atlantic Crossing''. "[[The First Cut Is the Deepest]]", a cover of a [[Cat Stevens]] song, went number one in the UK in 1977, and top 30 in the US.<ref name="BillboardChart"/><ref name="RockHall"/> "[[The Killing of Georgie]] (Part 1 and 2)", about the murder of a gay man, was also a Top 40 hit for Stewart during 1977.<ref name="BillboardChart"/>

''[[Foot Loose & Fancy Free]]'' (1977) featured Stewart's own band, the original Rod Stewart Group that featured Carmine Appice, Phil Chen, Jim Cregan, Billy Peek, [[Gary Grainger]] and [[John Barlow Jarvis|John Jarvis]]. It continued Stewart's run of chart success, reaching number two. "[[You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)|You're in My Heart]]" was the hit single, reaching number four in the US.<ref name="BillboardChart"/>

"[[Hot Legs]]" achieved a lot of radio airplay as did the confessional "[[I Was Only Joking]]". In appearance, Stewart's look had evolved to include a [[glam rock|glam]] element, including make-up and spandex clothes. Stewart scored another UK number one and US number one single with "[[Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?]]", which was a crossover hit reaching number five on the ''Billboard'' black charts due to its [[disco]] sound.<ref name="BillboardChart"/> This was the lead single from 1978's ''[[Blondes Have More Fun]]'', which went to number one on the ''Billboard'' album charts and sold three million albums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Rod+Stewart&ti=Blondes+Have+More+Fun|title=Recording Industry Association of America|website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] }}(RIAA)®</ref>

A focal point of criticisms about this period was his biggest-selling 1978 disco hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", which was atypical of his earlier output, and disparaged by critics.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t4062480|pure_url=yes}}|author=Mason, Stewart|title=Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?|website=AllMusic}}</ref> In interviews, Stewart, while admitting his accompanying look had become "tarty", has defended the lyrics by pointing out that the song is a [[third-person narrative]] slice-of-life portrayal, not unlike those in his earlier work, and that it is not about him. The song's refrain was identical to Brazilian [[Jorge Ben Jor]]'s earlier "Taj Mahal" and a lawsuit ensued. Stewart donated his royalties from "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" to [[UNICEF]], and he performed it with his band at the [[Music for UNICEF Concert]] at the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 1979.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Stewart moved to a more [[New wave music|new wave]] direction in 1980 by releasing the album ''Foolish Behaviour''. The album produced one hit single, "[[Passion (Rod Stewart song)|Passion]]", which reached No. 5 on the US ''Billboard'' Charts. In August 1981, MTV was launched in the US with several of Stewart's videos in heavy rotation. Later in 1981, Stewart added further elements of new wave and [[synthpop]] to his sound for the ''[[Tonight I'm Yours]]'' album. The title song reached No. 20 in the US, while "[[Young Turks (song)|Young Turks]]" reached the Top 5 with the album going platinum.<ref name="BillboardChart"/> On 18 December 1981, Stewart played the Los Angeles Forum, along with [[Kim Carnes]] and [[Tina Turner]], in a concert broadcast worldwide via satellite.<ref>{{cite web |title=1981 – Rod Stewart's concert at the Los Angeles Forum is beamed |url=http://www.thisdayinrock.com/index.php/general/1981-rod-stewarts-concert-at-the-los-angeles-forum-is-beamed/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017202701/http://www.thisdayinrock.com/index.php/general/1981-rod-stewarts-concert-at-the-los-angeles-forum-is-beamed/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=17 October 2017 |work=thisdayinrock.com |access-date=17 June 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Rod Stewart 86.jpg|thumb|upright|Stewart performing in [[Paris]], 1986]]
Stewart was criticised by the [[Anti-Apartheid Movement|anti-apartheid movement]] for breaking a widely observed cultural boycott of [[apartheid]] South Africa by performing at the [[Sun City, North West|Sun City]] resort complex in Bophuthatswana as part of his [[Body Wishes]] (1983) and [[Camouflage (Rod Stewart album)|Camouflage]] (1984) tours.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Elton-John-South-Africa-tour-jogs-memories-of-Sun--30061905.html | title= Elton John South Africa tour jogs memories of Sun City gigs | work= The Nation | date= 11 January 2008 | access-date= 6 August 2019 | url-status=dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131219073038/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Elton-John-South-Africa-tour-jogs-memories-of-Sun--30061905.html | archive-date= 19 December 2013 }}</ref>

Stewart had four US Top 10 singles between 1982 and 1988; "Young Turks" (No. 5, carrying over from 1981 into 1982), "Some Guys Have All the Luck" (No. 10, 1984), "Infatuation" (No. 6, 1984) and "Love Touch" (No. 6, 1986, a Holly Knight/Mike Chapman collaboration). "[[Baby Jane (Rod Stewart song)|Baby Jane]]" reached No. 14 in 1983, but went to No. 1 in the UK, his final chart-topping single there to date.<ref name="BillboardChart"/> The corresponding ''[[Camouflage (Rod Stewart album)|Camouflage]]'' album went gold in the UK, and the single "Infatuation" (which featured his old friend Jeff Beck on the guitar) received considerable play on MTV. The second single "[[Some Guys Have All The Luck]]" reached No. 15 in the UK and No. 10 in the US.<ref name="BillboardChart"/>

A reunion with Jeff Beck produced a successful take on [[Curtis Mayfield]]'s "[[People Get Ready]]", but an attempt to tour together fell apart after a few dates. In the UK, "[[Every Beat of My Heart (Rod Stewart song)|Every Beat of My Heart]]" reached number two in 1986. In January 1985, Stewart performed to a large audience at the [[Rock in Rio]] festival in [[Rio de Janeiro]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds of thousands turn out for Rock in Rio festival |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20110924-brazil-rock-rio-music-festival-draws-thousands-katy-perry-rihanna |access-date=17 June 2017 |work=france24.com |date=24 September 2011}}</ref>