View source for Maggie May

{{short description|1971 single by Rod Stewart}}
{{about|the Rod Stewart song|the musically unrelated folk song also known as "Maggie Mae"|Maggie May (folk song)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox song
| name          = Maggie May
| cover         = Maggiereason.jpg
| alt           = 
| caption       = German picture sleeve
| type          = single
| artist        = [[Rod Stewart]]
| album         = [[Every Picture Tells a Story]]
| A-side        = [[Reason to Believe]]
| released      = July 1971
| recorded      = 1970
| studio        = 
| venue         = 
| genre         = {{hlist|[[Folk rock]]<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=18 September 2019|title=Rod Stewart Preps New Orchestral LP 'You're in My Heart'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rod-stewart-orchestral-album-youre-in-my-heart-886997/|access-date=18 February 2021|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>|[[soft rock]]<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-love-16-great-soft-rock-hits-mw0000034197 | title= Best of Love: 16 Great Soft Rock Hits | work=AllMusic | first=Stephen Thomas | last=Erlewine}}</ref>}}
| length        = 5:50 (album version w/ Henry intro)<br />5:14 (single version)
| label         = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
| writer        = {{hlist|[[Rod Stewart]]|[[Martin Quittenton]]}}
| producer      = Rod Stewart
| prev_title    = [[It's All Over Now]]
| prev_year     = 1970
| title         = [[Reason to Believe]]
| title2        = Maggie May
| next_title    = [[(I Know) I'm Losing You]]
| next_year     = 1971
}}
"'''Maggie May'''" is a song co-written by singer [[Rod Stewart]] and [[Martin Quittenton]], performed by Stewart for his album ''[[Every Picture Tells a Story]]'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it number 130 in [[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 101-200|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|access-date=23 September 2021|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620035744/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|archive-date=20 June 2008}}</ref> In 2017, the [[Mercury Records]] single was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref> The song is regarded as Stewart's signature song.

==Background==
Written from Stewart's personal experience, "Maggie May" expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a boy involved in a relationship with an older woman. In the January 2007 issue of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine, Stewart recalled: "Maggie May was a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the 1961 [[Beaulieu Jazz Festival]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1304|title=Maggie May by Rod Stewart Songfacts|publisher=Songfacts.com|access-date=27 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="MM">{{cite news |last= Myers |first= Marc |date= 23 October 2015 |title= Maggie May – A Song of Loss |newspaper= [[The Wall Street Journal]] |publisher= [[Dow Jones & Company]] |page= D6 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/rod-stewart-on-the-making-of-maggie-may-1445353272 |url-status= live |url-access= subscription |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151021125216/https://www.wsj.com/articles/rod-stewart-on-the-making-of-maggie-may-1445353272 |archive-date= 2015-10-21 }}</ref> The woman's name was not "Maggie May"; Stewart has stated that the name was taken from "[[Maggie May (folk song)|an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute]]".<ref name="MM"/>

The song was recorded in just two takes in one session. Drummer [[Micky Waller]] often arrived at recording sessions with the expectation that a drum kit would be provided and, for "Maggie May", it was – except that no cymbals could be found. The cymbal crashes had to be overdubbed separately some days later.<ref>''Rod – The Autobiography'' {{ISBN|9781780890524}}</ref><ref name="MM"/>

The song was released as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of the single "[[Reason to Believe]]", but soon radio stations began playing the B-side and "Maggie May" became the more popular side. The song was Stewart's first substantial hit as a solo performer and launched his solo career. It remains one of his best-known songs. A 1971 performance of the song on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' saw [[the Faces]] joined onstage by DJ [[John Peel]], who pretended to play the [[mandolin]].<ref>{{cite web |date= 27 October 2004 |title= John Peel |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-peel-30592.html |website= [[The Independent]] }}</ref>   The mandolin player on the actual recording was [[Ray Jackson (musician)|Ray Jackson]] of [[Lindisfarne (band)|Lindisfarne]].

The album version of "Maggie May" incorporates a 30-second solo guitar intro, "Henry", composed by Martin Quittenton.<ref name="MM"/>

The original recording has appeared on almost all of Rod Stewart's compilations, and even appeared on the [[Ronnie Wood]] retrospective ''[[Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion]]''. A version by the Faces recorded for [[BBC Radio]] appeared on the four-disc box set ''[[Five Guys Walk into a Bar...]]''. A live version recorded in 1993 by Stewart joined by Wood for a session of ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' is included on the album ''[[Unplugged...and Seated]]''.

==Chart performance==
In October 1971, the song went to number one on the [[UK Singles Chart]] (for five weeks),<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |first=David |last=Roberts |year=2006 |title=[[British Hit Singles & Albums]] |edition=19th |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |pages=265–66}}</ref> and simultaneously topped the charts in [[Australia]] (four weeks), [[Canada]] (one week), and the [[United States]] (five weeks). It was the No. 2 record for 1971 on both the US [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and UK singles charts.

The song re-entered the UK chart in December 1976, but only reached number 31.

{{Quote|At first, I didn't think much of "Maggie May". I guess that's because the record company didn't believe in the song. I didn't have much confidence then. I figured it was best to listen to the guys who knew better. What I learned is sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.|Rod Stewart, 2015<ref name="MM"/>}}

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left" | Chart (1971)
!align="left" | Peak<br />position
|-
|align="left"|Australia ''[[Go-Set]]'' National Top 40<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1971/19711211.html |title=Go-Set Magazine Charts |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=January 2007 |website=www.poparchives.com.au |publisher=Barry McKay |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|[[RPM (magazine)|Canada]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.7585&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.7585.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.7585 |title=Image: RPM Weekly |website=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=17 April 2016}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|[[GfK Entertainment charts|Germany]] 
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|align="left"|[[Irish Singles Chart|Ireland]] 
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch40|3|artist=Rod Stewart}}
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch100|3|artist=Rod Stewart|song=Maggie May}}
|-
|align="left"|[[Official New Zealand Music Chart|New Zealand]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[Swiss Hitparade|Switzerland]]
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>[Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002]</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/19711023.html|title=Top 100 1971-10-23|work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]]|access-date=7 February 2016|df=dmy|archive-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102140618/http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/19711023.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Zimbabwe ([[List of record charts|ZIMA]])<ref>* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. ''Zimbabwe: singles chart book''. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000</ref>
|align="center"|8
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="left" | Chart (1976)
! align="left" | Peak <br />position
|-
|align="left"|Ireland 
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]
| style="text-align:center;"|31
|-
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1971)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|Canada<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.7590&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada|website=www.collectionscanada.gc.ca|access-date=23 June 2017}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1971|title=Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1971|publisher=[[Dutch Top 40]]|access-date=22 September 2020}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|-
|Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1971&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|access-date=22 September 2020}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|UK
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>"Top Pop 100 Singles" ''Billboard'' 25 December 1971: TA-36</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1971YESP.html|title=Top 100 Year End Charts: 1971|work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]]|access-date=30 May 2016|df=dmy|archive-date=25 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725141226/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1971YESP.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|23
|-
|}

===All-time charts===
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1958–2018)
! Position
|-
|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|182
|}

{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Platinum|number=3|type=single|relyear=1971|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=18 September 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Platinum|relyear=2007|certyear=2021|id=4119-1824-1|access-date=21 May 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1971|certyear=2021|access-date=8 May 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true|nosales=true}}

==Personnel==
* [[Rod Stewart]] – lead vocals
* [[Ronnie Wood]] – electric guitar, [[twelve-string guitar]], bass guitar
* [[Martin Quittenton]] – acoustic guitar
* [[Micky Waller]] – drums, [[cymbal]]s
* [[Ian McLagan]] – [[Hammond organ]]
* [[Ray Jackson (musician)|Ray Jackson]] – [[mandolin]] (listed on the album as "The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in [[Lindisfarne (band)|Lindisfarne]]. The name slips my mind.")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2816253.stm|title=Rod faces Maggie May action|publisher=BBC|date=3 March 2003|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Pete Sears]] – [[celesta]]

==Blur cover==
The English [[alternative rock]] band [[Blur (band)|Blur]] released a cover of "Maggie May" in 1993, for a CD given away with UK rock magazine ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''.

==See also==
* [[Maggie May (folk song)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{discogs master|master=110773}}
* {{YouTube|pj2EQRLm7Vc|Rod Stewart - Maggie May}}

{{Rod Stewart songs}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1971 songs]]
[[Category:1971 singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Australia]]
[[Category:Rod Stewart songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Rod Stewart]]
[[Category:Songs written by Martin Quittenton]]
[[Category:Songs written by Rod Stewart]]
[[Category:The Pogues songs]]
[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:Mercury Records singles]]
[[Category:British folk rock songs]]