“Handbags and Gladrags” by Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart cut "Handbags and Gladrags" for An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down in 1969, and he had the song's author on the record with him: Mike d'Abo, who wrote it in 1967 while he was singing lead for Manfred Mann, plays the piano. Stewart arranged it himself and co-produced with Lou Reizner.

It's a song of gentle scolding, aimed at a girl who takes a bit of material success as proof she's arrived, and urging her toward things that last and away from growing up too fast. Chris Farlowe got to it first, but Stewart's reading became one of the versions that sold.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.