Blondes Have More Fun

Blondes Have More Fun is Rod Stewart's ninth album, released in November 1978. As was the popular musical trend at the time, it is Stewart's foray into disco music. The album was commercially successful, reaching number 3 in the UK and number 1 in the US, but was critically divisive. The lead single "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" became one of Stewart's biggest hits, peaking at No.1 in both the UK and US.

Blondes Have More Fun
Studio album by
Rod Stewart
Released17 November 1978
Recorded1978
GenreRock, disco
Length43:09
LabelRiva, Warner Bros.
ProducerTom Dowd
Rod Stewart chronology
Foot Loose & Fancy Free
(1977)		 Blondes Have More Fun
(1978)		 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
(1979)
Singles from Blondes Have More Fun
  1. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
    Released: 10 November 1978
  2. "Ain't Love a Bitch"
    Released: January 1979
  3. "Blondes (Have More Fun)"
    Released: April 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Overview

After carving a highly successful career throughout the 1970s as a rock singer, Stewart elected to follow the disco trend that was at its peak in 1978 for some tracks of this album. The first single was "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" which became a number one hit in the UK, US, Australia and a number of other countries.[5][6][7] Many critics panned the direction of song towards disco, but it nevertheless became one of his biggest hits. Stewart has since defended the song commenting that Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones had also dabbled with disco music by this time.[8] The second single was "Ain't Love a Bitch", which became a No.11 hit in the UK and No.22 in the US.[9][7] The third and final single "Blondes (Have More Fun)" peaked at 63 in the UK, his lowest-charting single there at this time, but performed better in Ireland at No.23.[9][10]

The album itself peaked at No.3 in the UK, being certified platinum by Christmas and was a No.1 hit in the US, where it went double platinum.[11] It also charted within the top ten in a host of other countries.

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (Rod Stewart, Carmine Appice, Duane Hitchings) – 5:31[a]
  2. "Dirty Weekend" (Stewart, Gary Grainger) – 2:36
  3. "Ain't Love a Bitch" (Stewart, Grainger) – 4:39
  4. "The Best Days of My Life" (Stewart, Jim Cregan) – 4:21
  5. "Is That the Thanks I Get?" (Stewart, Cregan) – 4:32

Side two

  1. "Attractive Female Wanted" (Stewart, Grainger) – 4:17
  2. "Blondes (Have More Fun)" (Stewart, Cregan) – 3:46
  3. "Last Summer" (Stewart, Philip Chen) – 4:05
  4. "Standin' in the Shadows of Love" (Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland) – 4:28
  5. "Scarred and Scared" (Stewart, Grainger) – 4:54

a Stewart has acknowledged that the song inadvertently incorporates the melody from the song "Taj Mahal" by Jorge Ben Jor, although Ben Jor was not given a writing credit.[8]

Personnel

ROD STEWART BAND:

INVITED GUESTS:

Production

  • Tom Dowd – producer, mixing
  • Andy Johns – engineer, mixing
  • George Tutko, David Gerts – assistant engineers
  • Mixed at Smoke Tree and Cherokee Studios.

Chart performance
Chart (1978/9) Position
Austria[12] 10
Australia[13] 1
Germany[14] 9
Netherlands[12] 3
New Zealand[12] 1
Norway[12] 2
Sweden[12] 1
UK[9] 3
US 1

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] 2× Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[16] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[17] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[18] Platinum 20,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[19] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. AllMusic review
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Rolling Stone review
  4. "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  5. "Australia n°1 Hits – 70's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  6. "1978 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive – 2 December 1978". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. "Rod Stewart awards on AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  8. Stewart, Rod. Rod: The Autobiography (2012): 225–226
  9. Official UK Charts – Rod Stewart
  10. "The Irish Charts – All There Is To Know". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  11. Rod Stewart fanclub – Blondes Have More Fun
  12. Swedish Charts – Blondes Have More Fun
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. Official German Charts – Rod Stewart
  15. "Wea Australia Honors Rod" (PDF). Cash Box. 24 March 1979. p. 55. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  16. "French album certifications – Rod Stewart – Blondes Have More Fun" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  17. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Rod Stewart; 'Blondes Have More Fun')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  18. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1981". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  19. "New Zealand album certifications – Rod Stewart – Blondes Have More Fun". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  20. "British album certifications – Rod Stewart – Blondes Have More Fun". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 October 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Blondes Have More Fun in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. "American album certifications – Rod Stewart – Blondes Have More Fun". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 October 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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