Cat Stevens | Artist
Steven Demetre Georgiou aka Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born 1948 in Marylebone, London. His musical style consists of folk, rock, pop, and, later in his career, Islamic music. From his 1967 debut album Matthew & Son he proved himself a gifted singer and lyricist. Between 1970-1971 he released three superb albums which established Stevens as one of the world's leading singer/songwiters at that time, selling more than 100 million records. Stevens was the youngest child of a Greek Cypriot father and a Swedish mother,. The family lived above the Moulin Rouge, a restaurant his parents operated on the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue in the Soho theatre district of London. At 15, inspired by the Beatles, Stevens took up the guitar and began writing songs. At school he did poorly in everything but art. He took a one-year course at Hammersmith School of Art, considering a career as a cartoonist. Though he enjoyed art (his later record albums featured his original artwork), he decided to pursue music, initially performing under the name "Steve Adams." He later chose the stage name Cat Stevens, partly because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. His first singles were hits: "I Love My Dog" reached #28 on the UK Singles Chart; and "Matthew and Son", the title of his debut album, reached #2 in the UK. In 1967 he penned the song "The First Cut Is the Deepest", and sold it for £30 to P. P. Arnold. The song became a massive hit for her and many other name artists. After a serious bout of Tuberculosis, during which he wrote reams of new songs, Stevens hired an agent who arranged an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Records. Blackwell offered him freedom to record whenever and with whomever he liked and Stevens signed Paul Samwell-Smith, previously the bassist of the Yardbirds, as his new producer. Samwell-Smith paired Stevens with session guitarist Alun Davies and the trio set about recording Stevens' new material. Mona Bone Jakon was released in 1970 and included the single "Lady D'Arbanville". Later the same year his breakthrough album Tea for the Tillerman, became a Top 10 Billboard hit, attaining gold record status in the UK and US. The album features the singles "Wild World", "Hard-Headed Woman", and "Father and Son." 1971's Teaser and the Firecat reached #2 and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release. It yielded the hits, "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken", and "Moonshadow". Stevens continued to deliver fine records but none would surpass the the earlier trio. Other outstanding albums include Catch Bull at Four (1972), Foreigner (1973), Buddha and the Chocolate Box (1974) and the live album Majikat (2005). In 1978 Stevens adopted Islam and changed his name to Jusuf Islam. He dropped out of music for many years then began working again as Jusuf. Stevens/Yusef was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and has received two honorary doctorates and awards for promoting peace as well as other humanitarian awards. While on holiday in Marrakesh, Stevens was intrigued by the sound of the adhān, the Islamic ritual call to prayer, which was explained to him as "music for God". Stevens said, "I thought, music for God? I'd never heard that before – I'd heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God!?" Later, in 1976, Stevens nearly drowned off the coast of Malibu, California, but a wave appeared and carried him back to shore. This brush with death intensified his long-held quest for spiritual truth. He had looked into "Buddhism, Zen, I Ching, numerology, tarot cards, and astrology". Stevens' brother David Gordon, a convert to Judaism, brought him a copy of the Qur'an as a birthday gift from a trip to Jerusalem. Stevens formally converted to Islam in 1977, taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978.
Artist Website: catstevens.com
Featured Albums: Cat Stevens
Related Artists: Yusuf Islam
