Don’t it.

I was driving down Benedict Canyon with a Mercedes on my ass listening to "Stairway To Heaven".

When Lee Abrams was in charge of XM, "Stairway" was banned, we’d heard it enough, do we ever need to hear it again?  And while I’m contemplating the lift from Spirit, Robert’s pure voice, the inane lyrics and the dumb inner cover, the record changed.

When "Every Picture Tells A Story" was released Rod Stewart was unknown.

That changed overnight.

Despite having two albums under his belt, "Gasoline Alley" being the best work he’d ever do, almost no one in the States had a clue who the guy with the rooster hairdo was.  Then came "Maggie May".

That’s the game, staying in it long enough to get lucky.

But I never loved that track.  For me it was the first cut on the other side, the opening song, the title track.

Now back when this record was released, I didn’t even own a car.  I remember riding to the record store on my bicycle to buy the album the day it came out, I was just that big a fan, I had a poster on my dorm room wall.  And I dropped the needle and it sounded like where the last record left off, the plaintive acoustic guitar, the story continues, it was like getting a phone call from an old friend.

And then the drum hit.

Spent some time feelin’ inferior
Standing in front of my mirror

Ain’t that the teenage condition.  If you could only break out of the house and begin your life…and that’s exactly what Rod Stewart did, he was telling us his story.  Not that I’m better than you, but this is the tale if you take a risk, follow the music, opportunities and surprises are rife.

Down in Rome I wasn’t gettin’ me none
Of the things that keep a young man alive

Everyone’s a winner.  No one’s got questions.  No one has any despair.  It’s just a constant climb to the top.

Bullshit.

Then there’s that moment when Rod goes "Whew!"  THAT MAKES THE RECORD!  You see music is about emotion.  Not the kind that Christina Aguilera fakes, but the elation that you’re in the music game now and even though you might be bounced out any second, you’re loving the ride.

And when Maggie Bell comes in with the "vocal abrasives" you want to run out the front door and sign up, WHERE DO I GET MORE OF THIS!

Sure, I want to meet Shanghai Lil.  But really I want to be in the studio, just let me be a fly on the wall, experiencing all this.

I was driving to lunch with Craig Kallman.  I’d like to tell you I got insight into the Warner sale, but he knows no more than you and me, he’s reading the papers too.  But he did tell me about his big project, Atlantic Studios.

You see Craig’s looking for virtuosos, players.  He’s chasing talent instead of stardom.  He wants someone who stayed home and practiced like John Mayer instead of someone with a ton of YouTube hits.  And he’s having a hard time unearthing talent. So he decided to foster it himself.  They got a building in Hollywood, installed four studios and want everybody to come and HANG OUT!  Craig figures there’ll be some serendipity, young players will get inspired, it’ll be about the music as opposed to the fame.

And now David Guetta’s working there.  The building is humming 24/7.

That’s the future.  The music.

On paper, Rod Stewart was a stiff just moments before "Maggie May".  He didn’t sound like anybody else!  There was no slot. But the public becomes infatuated with that which is different and great, because there’s so little of it.

In other words, if you want to be successful you’re better off driving away from the mainstream instead of parking your car and hanging out with the usual suspects.

It’s a beautiful day in SoCal.  Not a cloud in the sky, it’s the time of possibilities.  And possibilities are born from music.  You put on your favorite record and get inspired.  I heard "Every Picture Tells A Story" and got inspired.  It sounded as fresh as it did back in ’71.  Just like a great book or "The Godfather" never fades, never loses relevance.  But few have the inclination to take such risk.  To be all in.

But that’s not enough.  You’ve got to work hard to get to the point where you can be noticed.

Rod did that vocal for Python Lee Jackson.

He was the lead singer for the Jeff Beck Group.

And now he was a member of the Faces.

He didn’t know he’d become so big.  He was just another voice.  Becoming more mature with each mile passing by under his wheels.

There are no guarantees in music.

You just get bitten by the bug and practice.

Or maybe you’re a listener, building your collection, addicted.

But what gets everybody addicted is originality.

And originality doesn’t come from a twelve year old.  It comes from someone who’s been bruised and battered, who can not only play but tell his world-weary tale.

If you don’t want to go for a ride on the Peking Ferry you’re no friend of mine.

You can’t bring your snazzy automobile.  Nor your designer outfits.  You can only bring yourself.

So shine up your personality, rehearse your tales, perfect your smile and LET’S GO!