Was there a “real” Maggie May in Rod Stewart’s life? The song sounds so heartfelt, but Rod’s pretty good at putting that kind of emotion in his music. He shares credit for the lyrics, which are here
I can believe a young aspiring rock star finding himself in that situation. Anyway, it’s a good story. I’ll bet I’m not the only guy to have had his heart broken by an “Older Woman”. 
Peace,
mangeorge
Rod Stewart has said that, "It’s a true story, with a few lies thrown in." This was in the track notation to his Storyteller box set.
To think that it was a B-side and wonder what would have happened to Rod if the DEE-JAY hadn’t turned the single over…
what was the a-side? every picture tells a story? (my guess)
The A-side was Reason To Believe.
On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, the “Reason to Believe” side of the single debuted on July 17, 1971 and got as high as #62. Beginning on August 14th “Maggie May” side was also listed on the chart, and eventually went all the way to #1. In 1993, Stewart released a new version of “Reason to Believe” which peaked at #19.
I’ve always wondered why the name of the song was “Maggie May” when you know Maggie does! 
Well, I always thought that song was about Britt Eklund… I don’t know why I thought that, though. I did a quick check and can’t find any confirmation of the connection… And it looks like she’s only 3 years or so older than he is. Maybe I just dreamed it?