Forever Young (Rod Stewart song)

"Forever Young"
"Forever Young"
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Out of Order
B-side	"Days Of Rage"
Released	July 3, 1988
Genre	Soft rock
Length	4:06
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Songwriter(s)	Jim Cregan, Kevin Savigar, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart
Producer(s)	Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor
Rod Stewart singles chronology

"Forever Young" is a song by British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, first released on his 1988 album Out of Order. The song was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #12, and #9 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts.

Background[]

The structure of the lyrics in this song is very similar to a Bob Dylan song of the same title.^[2] After its completion, the song was then sent to Dylan, asking whether he had a problem with it. The two men agreed to participate in the ownership of the song and share Stewart's royalties.^[3]

Stewart wrote the song with two of his band members: guitarist Jim Cregan and keyboardist Kevin Savigar. Stewart told Mojo magazine in 1995 that he considered "Forever Young" to be one of his favourite songs and the reason for writing it was, "I love 'Forever Young', because that was a real heartfelt song about my kids. I suddenly realized I'd missed a good five years of Sean and Kimberly's life because I was so busy touring all the time. With these kids now I don't make that mistake -- I take them on tour with me, so I can watch them grow up. So that's another favourite. Unfortunately, it wasn't a big hit in England, but it's like a national anthem here [America]."^[4]

In January 1989, immediately following the broadcast of Super Bowl XXIII, NBC Sports used "Forever Young" as the soundtrack for a year-in-review montage showcasing highlights from the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 1988 World Series, the 1989 Fiesta Bowl, and Super Bowl XXIII. All four events had been broadcast by NBC.

Stewart recorded a more mellow version of the song for his 1996 compilation album If We Fall in Love Tonight, and a version featuring just Stewart's voice with piano accompaniment can be found on the 2009 compilation album The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998. A live version was recorded during his MTV Unplugged session in 1993. Though not included on the original release of the live album Unplugged...and Seated, this version was later released as a bonus track on the Collector's Edition of the album released by Rhino Records in 2009. Another live version of the song from his 2013 performance at The Troubadour, West Hollywood was included on the deluxe edition of the album Time.

Music video[]

The video for this song features Stewart singing to a child, played by Alex Zuckerman, while scenes of rural America pass by. It was filmed on Potrero Road in Hidden Valley, Ventura County, California.

Chart history[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart^[5]	9
Ireland (IRMA)^[6]	41
South Africa (Springbok)^[7]	3
UK Singles Chart (Official Charts Company)^[8]	57
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[9]	12

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1988)	Rank
Canada^[10]	65
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)^[11]	123

Other versions[]

An acoustic version was performed by Matthew Morrison in the Glee third-season finale episode "Goodbye".^[12]

References[]

^ Reed, Ryan (19 September 2019). "Rod Stewart Preps New Orchestral LP 'You're in My Heart'".
^ Goldstein, Patrick (26 June 1988). "Rod Stewart Sounds an Echo of Dylan". Los Angeles Times.
^ Caro. "The song remains the same? Copycats tricky to tag in a recycled culture". Chicago Tribune. Victoria Advocate. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
^ Songfacts. Songfacts. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
^ [1]
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Forever Young". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ "Forever Young". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ "Forever Young". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ Carolyn Hope. "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
^ "GLEE Full Performance of Forever Young" – via www.youtube.com.

External links[]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

This 1980s single–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] Reed, Ryan (19 September 2019). "Rod Stewart Preps New Orchestral LP 'You're in My Heart'".

[2] Goldstein, Patrick (26 June 1988). "Rod Stewart Sounds an Echo of Dylan". Los Angeles Times.

[song_same-3] Caro. "The song remains the same? Copycats tricky to tag in a recycled culture". Chicago Tribune. Victoria Advocate. Retrieved 30 July 2011.

[4] Songfacts. Songfacts. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

[5] [1]

[sc_Ireland2_-6] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Forever Young". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 27, 2019.

[7] "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.

[8] "Forever Young". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.

[9] "Forever Young". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.

[10] Carolyn Hope. "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com.

[11] Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.

[12] "GLEE Full Performance of Forever Young" – via www.youtube.com.

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hide v t Rod Stewart songs
Discography
1970s	"It's All Over Now" (1970) "Reason to Believe"/"Maggie May" (1971) "Every Picture Tells a Story"/"Reason to Believe" (1971) Spain only "(I Know) I'm Losing You"/"Mandolin Wind" (1971) "Handbags and Gladrags" (1972) "You Wear It Well" (1972) "Angel" (1972) "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)" (1972) "Twistin' the Night Away" (1973, 1987) "Oh! No Not My Baby" (1973) "Farewell" / "You Send Me" (1973) "Mine for Me" (1974) "You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything" (1974) Stewart/Faces "Sailing" (1975) "This Old Heart of Mine" (1975) "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" (1976) "The Killing of Georgie" (1976) "Get Back" (1976) "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1977) "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (1977, 1990) "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" (1978) "Hot Legs" (1978) "I Was Only Joking" (1978) "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1978, 1997) "Ain't Love a Bitch" (1979) "Blondes (Have More Fun)" (1979)
1980s	"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1980) "Passion" (1980) "Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me)" (1981) "Young Turks" (1982) "How Long" (1982) "Baby Jane" (1983) "That's What Friends Are For" (1983) "Infatuation" (1984) "Some Guys Have All the Luck" (1984) "All Right Now" (1984) "People Get Ready" (1985, 1991, 1993) Stewart/Beck "Love Touch" (1986) "In My Life" (1987) "Lost in You" (1988) "Forever Young" (1988) "My Heart Can't Tell You No" (1988) "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" (1989)Stewart/Isley "Downtown Train" (1989)
1990s	"It Takes Two" (1990) Stewart/Turner "Rhythm of My Heart" (1991) "The Motown Song" (1991) "Your Song" (1992) "Ruby Tuesday" (1993) "Have I Told You Lately" (1993) "Reason to Believe" (unplugged, 1993) "All for Love" (1993) Stewart/Adams/Sting "Leave Virginia Alone" (1995) "Lady Luck" (1996) "Ooh La La" (1998) "Rocks" (1998) "Cigarettes and Alcohol" (1998) "Faith of the Heart" (1999)
2000s	"These Foolish Things" (2002) "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (2003) "Time After Time" (2003) "What a Wonderful World" (2004) "Blue Moon" (2004) "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (2005) "I've Got a Crush on You" (2005) "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (2006) "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (2006)
2010s	"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (2012) "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (2012) "Everyday" (2015)