Rod Stewart: I’m a pretend songwriter

Rod Stewart has always tortured himself when it comes to his songwriting abilities.

The Scottish singer has had a hugely successful career, first with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces before becoming a solo artist. With hits such as Maggie May and Sailing under his belt, anyone would think Rod had confidence in his songwriting, but in reality his view is the complete opposite.

"I've always tortured myself and thought, 'You're a pretend songwriter. You're a performer,'" he confessed to Rolling Stone.

But working on his autobiography in 2012 set him on a path to reconnecting with his craft. Soon, the 70-year-old had penned enough songs for his 2013 record Time and following its success, he will soon release another album of his own material, Another Country.

"I'd done the Great American Songbook albums," he explained. "I'd done a soul album. I'd done a rock [covers] album. I backed myself into an alley because there's not much left to do except write."

It doesn't mean Rod is bored of singing his biggest hits though. The star will return to Las Vegas next year (Mar16) to resume his residency at Caesar's Palace and will happily take a trip down memory lane.

While he told the outlet in 1977 that he didn't want to be singing Da Ya Think I'm Sexy past the age of 50 and become a parody of himself, Rod still belts out the hit on a regular basis.

"You have to be able to laugh at yourself," he added. "You just have to."

Joking aside, Rod is just glad he is able to continue doing his dream job. Having lost his voice in 2000 for a number of months after surgery to remove a cancerous growth, the singer does everything he can to protect his instrument now.

"I treat my voice like it's the crown jewels," he said. "It isn't not working, I ain't happy. If I lost it forever, it would be a huge void in my life. Being up on that stage is highly addictive. There's no drug like it in the world."