Kenney Jones, the drummer for Small Faces, Faces, and The Who, has revealed that Rod Stewart was initially rejected by his bandmates when he suggested him as their new singer. The band feared another 'prima donna' after Steve Marriott's departure, but Jones convinced them they'd be 'stupid' to turn him down.
Faces formation and Stewart's audition
In 1969, Stewart was a little-known talent with the Jeff Beck Group. Jones's bandmates were happy to take Beck's bassist Ronnie Wood, but were less keen on Stewart, despite knowing he was a great singer. Marriott had left Small Faces because he was tired of the screaming teenage audience and wanted to be taken seriously.
Recalling the night Faces found their man, Jones told the Express: "Ronnie and Mac had great voices, but something wasn't right. We were missing 'the' voice. Then, Rod came down to watch us. And he kept coming down, and he was obviously perfect."
Jones took Stewart aside and asked him to join. When he told the band, their reaction was negative: "No! We can't have any prima donnas. We've just had that with Steve!" But Jones insisted: "I told them we'd be stupid to turn Rod down. And eventually they saw sense."
Small Faces' early days and Mod movement
Faces, renamed from Small Faces because "Woody and Rod were too tall, we weren't small anymore," enjoyed hits like Stay With Me, Cindy Incidentally, and Ooh La La, helping launch Stewart's solo career.
Jones, who was only 15 when Small Faces had their first hit Whatcha Gonna Do About It in 1965, described the band's role in the Mod movement: "We grew up in black-and-white, after Britain was recovering from the war. Everyone wore grey or black. Then clothes shops started opening, and we had a great deal of fun discovering new fashion."
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake and regrets
Small Faces' third album, Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, failed to chart but is now recognized as a classic concept album. Jones regrets they only played it once in concert, for BBC2's Colour Me Pop: "I really wish we'd played Ogdens' live more. In Britain, our teenybopper image was driving us nuts. We should have taken Ogdens' to America. If we'd done that, we would have stayed together longer."
The band reformed in 1977 without Laine, but the album Playmates was a disaster, with Marriott adopting punk antics onstage. Jones said: "I wish that period of my life never happened."
Joining The Who and Keith Moon's death
Jones replaced Keith Moon in The Who after Moon's death in 1978 at age 32. Jones was with Moon the night he died and recalled: "I still miss Keith every day." Despite initial reluctance, he joined The Who after his new bandmates encouraged him.
Jones insists there are no difficulties with Roger Daltrey, who was critical of his playing style: "I understand why Roger was upset. We get along great, there's no problem between us."
In 2014, Jones played with The Who again for a Prostate Cancer UK concert after his own diagnosis. He now runs a record label, Nice, and there are plans for a new Faces album and documentary with Stewart and Wood, 53 years after their last record.
Reflecting on his career, Jones recalled Small Faces' first manager Don Arden's advice: "Get what you can, while you can, because this is only going to last you three months." Those three months have lasted sixty-odd years.
