ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A singer who has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice and is among the best-selling male singers of all time will return to PPL Center, it was announced Monday.
Rod Stewart, who in a 57-year recording career has sold a certified 85 million albums and an estimated 120 million worldwide, will perform at 8 p.m. March 14.
The show, part of Stewart's “One Last Time” tour, will feature chart-topping hits spanning Stewart’s career, according to a release.
They include "You Wear It Well," "Maggie May," "Da Ya Think I’m Sexy," "The First Cut is the Deepest," "Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," “Infatuation,” "Forever Young,” “Ooh La La (I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now),” ”Young Turks,” "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” “Broken Arrow,” "Forever Young” and more.
Tickets, the prices of which have not been announced, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19 at the PPL Center website or the box office at 701 Hamilton St., Allentown.
Stewart, who will be 81 by the time of the show, began his recording career as a member of Jeff Beck Group in 1967, then with the group Faces in 1969.
He released his solo debut album in 1969, and had his breakthrough success with 1971's "Every Picture Tells a Story," which sold platinum and included the double-platinum "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe."
Recording career success
He since has had 31 Top 20 hits, seven of which have sold gold or platinum, most recently 1993's "All for Love" with Bryan Adams and Sting.
Stewart has released 32 studio albums, the most recent of which was last year's "Swing Fever" with Jools Holland with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
Including live and compilation albums, he has had 25 gold and platinum albums.
His best-selling albums were 1977’s “Foot Loose & Fancy Free,” 1978’s “Blondes Have More Fun” and 1993’s “Unplugged … and Seated,” all of which went triple-platinum.
His last album to go gold or platinum was 2012's "Merry Christmas Baby," his first Christmas album.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, he is the No. 17 best-selling male singer or all time.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a solo artist and in 2012 as a member of Faces.
He won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2005 for “Stardust … The Great American Songbook Volume III.”
Long history in the Lehigh Valley
Stewart last performed in the Lehigh Valley in October, at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.
He also played there in 2016, when it was called Sands Bethlehem Event Center, and sold out the venue in less than 30 minutes, despite setting a then-record price of $150 to $200.
Stewart also performed a near-sellout show at PPL Center in 2019 with Cyndi Lauper.
Stewart’s 1984 show at Allentown Fair set a record attendance for a seated show there by drawing 14,500. That record stood for 11 years — until Boyz II Men broke it in 1995.
He also drew a record crowd of 6,023 people to Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena in 1994 — a number above the arena’s normal concert capacity because Stewart used an “in the round” seating configuration.
More than 30 years later, that show still is among the Top 15 largest crowds Stabler ever had. Stewart also packed Stabler in 1999.
Stewart’s 1984 show at Allentown Fair set a record attendance for a seated show there by drawing 14,500. That record stood for 11 years — until Boyz II Men broke it in 1995.
