Rod Stewart has eight children. Ruby Stewart is Sir Rod’s fourth child, the only child of his 1983 – 1990 relationship with model Kelly Emberg. When Ruby was 7, she once sang Sweet Little Rock and Roller with her father at a concert. When she was thirteen she was offered a recording contract but her parents deemed her too young. When she was old enough, Ruby started modeling. Soon she was playing in bands.
In 2010, Ruby Stewart co-founded Revoltaire, an LA–based band. In 2012, Ruby sang the English version of Whatever Lola Wants for a Pepsi commercial. Of interest to our first video, in 2016 Ruby formed the duo The Sisterhood Band with Alyssa Bonagura. In the video The Sisterhood play Forever Young with Sir Rod during a Rod Stewart concert at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, 2018. Bonagura plays guitar while Ruby duets with her father. Listen to how well Ruby and Rod’s voices mesh on the chorus:
Besides the duet with Ruby, highlights of the performance are the drumming interlude and the celtic stylings which followed it (and preceded Sir Rod and The Sisterhood’s return to the stage). According to the concert review in The Tennessean, just as the video cuts off – after Ruby thanks her father – Sir Rod said proudly: “There’s my lovely daughter. I think she’s turned out rather well. She was a little s— when she was 14.” Let’s hear what the fans have to say.
Glenn Kitchen comments on YouTube: “GREAT! Full Kudos to the Drummers! Primary drummer knocked me out, synchro was fantastic. Wonderful work all of you! Great message Mr. Rod Stewart, nicely exemplified with your daughter!” Dana J writes: “Stewart is a Living Legend and a superstar.” Vicki Reynolds states: “Love this song by him and now with his very talented daughter!” Our next video is a Covid-era Instagram live broadcast by Ruby and Rod Stewart. Enjoy.
Going back to our first, 2018 video of Forever Young in Nashille, The Sisterhood performed two songs during Sir Rod’s set. The duo played their song Half Way with Sir Rod’s band, giving the superstar a breather and a chance to change outfits, before Rod emerged to join them for Forever Young. Speaking of the outfit changes, The Tennessean is amusing: “It’s gonna be a hot one tonight,” the publication reports Stewart saying at the beginning of his set, “as he peeled a leopard-print suit jacket off his back — the first of several flashy outfits that clashed magnificently with a checkerboard stage.”
Researching this article, I resolved an issue that has long puzzled me: the similarities and differences between Bob Dylan’s Forever Young and the Rod Stewart article of the same name. Apparently Stewart adapted the Dylan song as a song to his own kids. Recorded in 1988, the song was so similar to Dylan’s song that the two artists agreed to share the publishing and royalty rights of the Stewart version.
Rod Stewart has spoken about his fondness for his version due to its association with his children. He told Mojo in 1995, “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 [younger] 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].”
Since the pandemic, Ruby seems to have embarked on a solo career. In January 2023, Ruby Stewart & Jake Kalick were engaged. Their first child, Otis Stewart Kalick, was bornon Mother’s Day in May 2023. The Music Man wishes the family well.