Sir Rod Stewart, Jools Holland announce collaborative album: Sir Rod Stewart and Jools Holland, legendary musicians who first bonded over their shared passion for model railroading, have announced a collaborative album titled ‘Swing Fever’ due to release in February of 2024.
The pair of artists will be joined on this collaborative album by Jools’ Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Sir Rod Stewart has described swing and big band music as his “true musical love” in an interview with Rolling Stone. The pair will cover classic swing and big band standards, including ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’. This album marks a stylistic departure for Stewart, best known for rock ballads including ‘Sailing’ and ‘Maggie May’.
As Jools Holland wrote in an article for Trains.com in September of 2022, he first met Sir Rod in a chance encounter in the early 2000s, where their shared enthusiasm for model railroading spurred Jools into expanding his model railroad. Jools’ OO scale layout now stretches around the walls of a 42-by-12 foot room.
In a story for Model Railroader in 2007, Stewart said “I’m proud to be a railway modeler. It means more to me to be on the cover of Model Railroader than to be on the cover of a music magazine.” You can read that issue here.
I would hope “City of New Orleans” would be on this album. Maybe MR could pass along the at suggestion.
I have heard some of Sir Stewart’s “classic” big-band style recordings, and then DEFINITELY has the voice for it. when this album comes out – I might even buy it!!!