By 2002, Stewart had sold over 100 million records during his career. Stewart then concentrated on singing 1930s and 1940s pop standards from the "Great American Songbook", written by songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George and Ira Gershwin, with great popular success. These albums have been released on Clive Davis's J Records label and have seen Stewart enjoy album sales equal to the 1970s.
The first album from the songbook series, It Had to Be You: the Great American Songbook, reached number four on the US album chart, number eight in the UK and number ten in Canada when released in late 2002. The track "These Foolish Things" (which is actually a British, not American, song) reached number 13 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts and number two in Taiwan. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" went Top 20 on the world Internet charts and Top 30 on the adult contemporary charts.
The second series album, As Time Goes By: the Great American Songbook 2, reached number two in the US, number four in the UK and number one in Canada. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", a duet with Cher, went Top 20 on the US adult contemporary charts and Top 5 in Taiwan. "Time After Time" was another Top 30 track on the US adult contemporary charts. A musical called Tonight's The Night, featuring many of Stewart's songs opened, 7 November 2003 at London's Victoria Palace Theatre. It is written and directed by Ben Elton, who previously created a similar production; We Will Rock You, with music by Queen.
In 2004, Stewart reunited with Ronnie Wood for concerts of Faces material. A Rod Stewart and the Faces best of Changing Faces reached the Top 20 of the UK album charts. Five Guys Walk into a Bar..., a Faces box set compilation, went into the shops. Stewart has also mentioned working with Wood on an album to be entitled You Strum, I'll Sing. In late 2004, Stardust: the Great American Songbook 3, the third album in Stewart's songbook series, was released. It was his first US number one album in 25 years, selling over 200,000 albums in its first week. It also debuted at number one in Canada, number three in the UK and Top 10 in Australia. His version of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", featuring Stevie Wonder, made the Top 20 of the world adult charts. He also recorded a duet with Dolly Parton for the album - "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Stewart won his first ever Grammy Award for this album.
The year 2005 saw the release of the fourth and final songbook album, Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4; it included duets with Diana Ross and Elton John. Within weeks of its release, the CD made it to number two on the Top 200 list. In late 2006, Stewart made his return to rock music and his new approach to country music with the release of Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time, a new album featuring rock and southern rock milestones from the last four decades, including a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" which was released as the first single. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts with 184,000 copies in its first week. The number one debut was helped by a concert in New York City that was on MSN Music and an appearance on Dancing with the Stars . He performed tracks from his new album Live from the Nokia Theater on 9 October. Control Room broadcast the event Live on MSN and in 117 movie theatres across the country via National CineMedia.
On 12 December, he performed for the first time at The Royal Variety Performance at The London Coliseum in front of HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, singing another Cat Stevens number, "Father and Son", and the Bonnie Tyler song It's a Heartache. On 22 December 2006 Stewart hosted the 8th Annual A Home for the Holidays special on CBS at 8:00 PM (PST). In 2007, Rod's son Sean starred in the A&E television show Sons of Hollywood, in which Rod's role as a parent is a major theme. Rod Stewart performed "Sailing" and "Baby Jane" plus "Maggie May" at the memorial concert for Princess Diana in the same year.
On 11 June 2008, Stewart announced that the Faces are discussing a reunion for at least one or two concerts.
