Rod Stewart to play Caesars, but is a lounge visit in the offing?

Rod Stewart is on the other end of this phone conversation, and he’s making his case for a rock star singing the standards.

The rock star in question is Rod Stewart, whose latest release is titled Fly Me to the Moon … The Great American Songbook Volume V. Saturday night, Stewart begins an eight-show run through Nov. 21 at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace, concerts that will serve as a greatest-hits retrospective and a way for AEG Live -- which books shows into The Colosseum -- to gauge whether Stewart might be Caesars’ next rotating resident headliner. (Tickets are $69, $99, $150, $225, fees included; call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or go to Ticketmaster.com.)

But to sell music, the man who wailed “You Wear It Well” digs deep into the standards with his string of American Songbook cover compilations.

As I’ve learned over the years, those who have long performed these classics in Las Vegas have not always applauded Stewart’s reinvention effort.

Highlights of our chat:

John Katsilometes: “Why did you call the album Fly Me to the Moon, with all the other titles available?”

Rod Stewart: “It was only after lots of argument and shouting from everybody (laughs). I’d made more of an up-tempo album and wanted a title from a song everybody seems to love.”

JK: “At this point in your career, is coming up with a title that important? Do you delegate those types of duties?”

RS: “No, I keep tabs on everything, including and especially the title.”

JK: “How are you going to work songs like ‘Hot Legs’ into a set with ‘Moon River’ ”?

RS: “We tried to do that six years ago, incorporate the standards, and you can’t. The show just went flat. People either want rock ’n’ roll classics or the American Songbook, but not many want both.”

JK: “I have to say, on this topic of standards, a few years ago when I was the editor of the arts and entertainment section of the Las Vegas Sun, we interviewed a guy named Jerry Tiffe, who is one of the big lounge singers in Las Vegas. We asked him about you.”

RS: “Jerry Tiffe? Yes?”

JK: “He’s actually someone I’ve gotten to know pretty well over the years, and he’s really passionate about the standards, Cole Porter songs, the Sinatra classics, a lot of what you’ve been recording over the years.”

RS: “I love the songs, I really do.”

JK: “Well, Jerry was crestfallen when we asked him about Rod Stewart taking on these songs and recording them on CD. This was after the third Standards release. He didn’t like it at all.”

RS: “Really?”

JK: “He’s very much a purist. I call him The Last Lounge Singer and is very protective of that form of music.”

RS: “Really? How old is he?”

JK: “I think Jerry is 62 or 63.”

RS: “How dare he! How dare he tell me what I can’t sing! (Laughing) I am older than he is!” (Stewart is 65.)

JK: “He said he couldn’t listen to any of the songs in your Songbook series, he was that upset.”

RS: “Jerry Tiffe is the name? I will find him on the Internet. I’ll look him up.”

JK: “Yeah, it’s T-I-F-F-E. He’s a really good guy. Back in the day, he worked at the Sands. He worked there on two different occasions, actually.”

RS: “The Sands? Is he Italian?”

JK: “Hmmmm. I feel that he is. I’m not sure. But he’s been around Las Vegas forever, more than 30 years.”

RS: “He plays Las Vegas, still?”

JK: “Yes, he’s at places like Arizona Charlie’s, Palace Station, Boulder Station.”

RS:“These are all lounges?”

JK: “They are hotels that have lounges, yeah. The Naughty Ladies Saloon at Arizona Charlie’s is where I first saw him.”

RS: “I would like to see him.”

JK: “I’ll tell you, if you want to see him, I’ll make it happen. We’ll go see him at Naughty Ladies Saloon. This is a summit that needs to happen. You’ll probably get a shout-out from the back of the room.”

RS: “I would like that (laughing) … I’ll find him online.”

JK: “But the serious point is that a lot of fans of this music and the artists who sing these songs are very emotionally attached to them, and here you come as a rock star, late in your career, recording them yourself.”

RS: “It’s all just done with love and soul. Music doesn’t belong to any type of person. Whether you’re a singer or a fan, it belongs to everyone. I’m doing this with great caring, that’s how I look at it. It is a privilege to be asked to sing ‘Moon River’ or ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’ ”

JK: “Does it feel different to you to be singing ‘Maggie May’ compared to one of the standards, like the ones you’ve mentioned?”

RS: “Hey, well, I wrote ‘Maggie May,’ so I am obviously proud of my own songs and love them all. But I do get a kick out of ‘Black Magic’ and ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin.’ I love singing everything I sing.”

JK: “This is a test for you to perform some sort of extended engagement at The Colosseum, like what Elton John did with Red Piano. Is that accurate?”

RS: “It’s supposed to be for a month, and we’re just testing the waters. We’ll see how it works, see if I enjoy it. I don’t know, month after month? We’ll just see how it goes.”

JK: “Well, we’d love to have you here. I think even Jerry Tiffe would love to have you here. It’s good for business.”

RS: “I hope so (laughs). I hope so.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.