Charlie Harper Recalls The Time Rod Stewart Wasn’t The Lead Singer But Thrilled Him Anyway

UK Subs singer Charlie Harper recently joined Cult Heroes for an interview and remembered when Rod Stewart‘s performance thrilled him, although he wasn’t singing the lead.

Rod Stewart is mainly known for his unique raspy singing voice, but his harmonica playing is as good as his singing. His music career began in 1962 when he got on the streets with his harmonica. The musician then joined The Dimensions as a vocalist and harmonica player a year later. Apart from that, Stewart also pursued a successful solo career.

Stewart mixed the elements of rock, folk, soul, and R&B while creating his sound. At the beginning of his music career, he took several trips to other countries and played his harmonica on the streets. Stewart joined the Dimensions in October 1963, and this was his first professional tenure. He then improved his harmonica playing gradually after several live shows.

In a recent interview with Cult Heroes, Charlie Harper remembered the time he watched Rod Stewart perform with the Dimensions. He stated that Stewart was sitting on a barstool and playing harmonica during that performance. Moreover, Stewart wasn’t the lead vocalist, although he was a great singer with a gravelly voice.

Harper then said Stewart’s voice was too good for R&B as he had a rough and raspy voice. He recalled that Stewart performed some Jimmy Reed songs, such as ‘Bright Lights Big City’ and ‘Shame Shame Shame,’ with his harmonica. According to Harper, Stewart was better than the singer at that performance.

During the conversation, Charlie Harper said about Rod Stewart the following:

“He used to play harmonica for the Dimensions, and he just used to sit on a barstool on stage and play harmonica. He wasn’t the lead singer. He was a great singer, but his voice was almost too good for R&B, where Rod had that rough gravelly voice.

Rod Stewart used to get up, Rod The Mod as he was called back then, and he used to do a couple of Jimmy Reed songs like ‘Bright Lights Big City,’ and ‘Shame Shame Shame,’ and then play the harmonica with them. I thought he was good. I liked him better than the singer, although the singer was a great singer.”

You can watch the interview below.