1960–1969

Rod Stewart had trials with football clubs including Brentford (based in West London). He then worked as a grave digger.[citation needed] He soon switched to a career in music joining folk singer Wizz Jones in the early 1960s as a street singer travelling around Europe; this resulted in his being deported from Spain for vagrancy.

In the spring of 1962, he helped to found The Ray Davies Quartet, later known as the successful British band The Kinks, as their lead singer. He performed with the group on at least one occasion, but was soon dropped due to complaints about his voice from then-drummer John Start's mother as well as musical and personality differences with the rest of the band. This has been denied by both Ray and Dave Davies, however he did play on a football team with Ray at that time.

After Rod Stewart's return to London, he also joined Jimmy Powell & the Five Dimensions in 1964 as a vocalist and harmonica player. He and the band recorded a single for Pye Records. Long John Baldry discovered him drunk and busking for train fare and invited him to join The Hoochie Coochie Men which recorded a single, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, that failed to chart. The Hoochie Coochie Men evolved into Steampacket featuring Stewart, Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, Mickey Waller and Rick Brown. Steampacket supported the Rolling Stones and the Walker Brothers on tour in the summer of 1965. They also recorded tracks that would not be released as an album until 1970, after Stewart had become well-known in musical circles. Stewart also earned the nickname Rod the Mod during that period, as a result of his appearance in a 1965 BBC documentary on the mod subculture.

Steampacket broke up in early 1966 with Stewart joining Shotgun Express as lead vocalist with Beryl Marsden. Shotgun Express also contained Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green who would go on to form Fleetwood Mac and Peter Bardens. Shotgun Express released one single before breaking up.

Stewart then joined the Jeff Beck Group as vocalist. In 1968, their first album Truth became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and the group toured extensively. The second album Beck-Ola also was a hit in the middle of 1969 but the group had broken up by the end of the year. Much of Stewart's sense of phrasing was developed during his time with the Jeff Beck Group.