I Was Only Joking
Rod Stewart | Artist Essentials
First released: 1977 (year verified)
Original 1977 solo studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The lightly sketched opening leaves space for the narrative phrasing and the later instrumental expansion.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1977 (year verified)
Original 1977 recording; year precision avoids assigning a later single campaign, concert, remaster or annual-list date as the first release.
Recording: Original 1977 solo studio recording
Credit: Rod Stewart
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: Footloose & Fancy Free
Original release-cycle association; the supported year is retained without asserting an earliest day.
Rod Stewart - original 1975 to 1978 album programs
Original years and full original tracklists for Atlantic Crossing, A Night on the Town, Footloose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun, separately from later outtakes. No chart-first claim is adopted. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
The retained 1978 original solo hit is reviewed against the 1977 Footloose & Fancy Free studio program.
Rod Stewart - original 1975 to 1978 album programs
Original years and full original tracklists for Atlantic Crossing, A Night on the Town, Footloose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun, separately from later outtakes. No chart-first claim is adopted. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
About Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart is a British singer whose rasping voice connects blues, folk, soul and popular ballads. His early performing work included the Jeff Beck Group and Faces, while a parallel solo career produced Gasoline Alley and Every Picture Tells a Story. Maggie May and You Wear It Well paired storytelling with acoustic textures and rock rhythms. Later recordings broadened his repertoire through interpretations of songs such as Sailing and Downtown Train. Guitarist Ronnie Wood was an important collaborator in Stewart's early solo work.
Artist background sources
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Rod Stewart, 1994 induction essay
Michael Hill essay supports vocal style, early groups versus parallel solo career, named solo repertoire and Ronnie Wood collaboration; anecdotal origin stories and group-credit mapping omitted. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Continue listening
Recommended positions express one editorial listening sequence. They are not measured quality scores.
Browse by year
1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.