"Stay with Me" is a song by English rock band Faces, written jointly by lead singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood. Released from the band's third studio album A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse (1971), it became their only major hit in the United States, although they had a further three Top 20 singles in the UK chart. The song has also appeared on various Faces compilations and on albums by both songwriters. The lyrics describe a woman named Rita, who has a face that she has "nothing to laugh about", and with whom the singer proposes a one-night stand, on the condition that she be gone when he wakes up.
"Stay with Me" | ||||
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Single by Faces | ||||
from the album A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse | ||||
B-side |
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Released | December 1971; November 2019 (Rod Stewart version) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:37 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood | |||
Producer(s) | Faces, Glyn Johns | |||
Faces singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Audio | ||||
"Stay with Me" on YouTube |
"Stay with Me" reached number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100.[3] The song also reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart[4] and number 4 in Canada.[5]
In 1993 Stewart, reunited with Wood for MTV Unplugged, recorded a live version of the song, which appears on the 1993 album Unplugged...and Seated (1993).[6]
Def Leppard covered the song on Yeah! "Phil [Collen, guitarist] sang 'Stay with Me'," noted singer Joe Elliott. "It's his best Rod Stewart impression. I played the Fender Rhodes, he got to sing. There was a lot of instrument-swapping going on. Vivian [Campbell, guitarist] played some great Ronnie Wood slide guitar."[7]
The band Train covered the song on their 2004 album Alive at Last.[8]
In 2007, the song was covered by McFly as a b-side to their single "Do Ya" which was released for Children in Need.
In 2019, Mary J. Blige covered the song for the soundtrack of The Umbrella Academy.[9]
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[15] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |