Faces were an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of Small Faces after lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott left that group to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces—Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass guitar, vocals), and Kenney Jones (drums and percussion)—were joined by Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (lead vocals), both from the Jeff Beck Group, and the new line-up was renamed Faces. The band had a unique arrangement, as Rod Stewart had signed a separate solo recording contract shortly prior to joining Faces. Band members often contributed to Stewart solo albums as contract players, and Stewart would tour as a solo act, sometimes with various members of the band. The band lacked a single main songwriter, as each member would contribute songs to each of their albums. While Stewart was the primary lead singer, both Lane and Wood would also sing lead vocals on several tracks. Their first two albums, First Step (1970) and Long Player (1971), lacked a hit single, but their third album, 1971's A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse, bolstered by the success of Stewart's solo work, became a worldwide hit, peaking at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and number 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and spawning the band's first hit single, "Stay with Me". Tensions in the band came to a head during the recording of their fourth (and final) studio album, 1973's Ooh La La. Ronnie Lane, who was a founder member of Small Faces, left over his diminished role in the band in 1973, he was replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi on bass. The band would continue to tour throughout 1974 and 1975, releasing a live album, Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners, in 1974 that was jointly credited to Rod Stewart/Faces. Ronnie Wood also began to drift from the group over this period, releasing two solo albums of his own, and appearing as a guest musician on two Rolling Stones albums and joining them on tour in 1975. He was briefly replaced by Jesse Ed Davis on guitars before the band broke up at the end of 1975. A greatest hits collection, Snakes and Ladders / The Best of Faces, appeared in 1976, and additional retrospective albums would appear over the subsequent decades. Stewart would continue his successful solo career, while Ronnie Wood would formally join the Rolling Stones as a permanent member in 1976. Kenney Jones joined The Who as a replacement for the deceased Keith Moon in 1978. Ian McLagan would go on to work as a session and touring musician with a number of acts throughout the 1970s and 1980s, while Ronnie Lane would retire from the music business by 1977 due to personal illness. The original Small Faces would have a reunion during late 1970s with Marriott, Jones, and McLagan joined by Rick Wills on bass guitar, as Lane could not perform anymore. A number of partial reunions of the Faces were rumored throughout the 2000s, with various one-off performances involving surviving members occuring. In 2010-2011 a brief reunion tour occurred with Mick Hucknall and Glen Matlock on vocals and bass respectively. Faces and Small Faces were jointly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Stewart was scheduled to perform with the rest of the band, but was unable to do so at the last minute due to illness; he was replaced by Hucknall.

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