Back Cat Stevens Afrikaans Cat Stevens AN يوسف إسلام Arabic يوسف اسلام ARZ Yusuf İslam Azerbaijani کت استیونز AZB Кэт Стывенс Byelorussian Юсуф Ислям Bulgarian ইউসুফ ইসলাম Bengali/Bangla Cat Stevens Breton

Cat Stevens

Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens
Stevens performing at Glastonbury Festival 2023
Stevens performing at Glastonbury Festival 2023
Background information
Birth nameSteven Demetre Georgiou
Also known as
  • Steve Adams
  • Cat Stevens
  • Yusuf
Born (1948-07-21) 21 July 1948 (age 76)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active
  • 1965–1980 (as Cat Stevens)
  • 1995–2014 (as Yusuf Islam or Yusuf)
  • 2017–present (as Yusuf / Cat Stevens)
Labels
SpouseFauzia Mubarak Ali
Websitecatstevens.com

Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948),[1] commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams.[2] His musical style consists of folk, rock, pop, and, later in his career, Islamic music. Following two decades in which he performed only music which met strict religious standards, he returned to making secular music in 2006.[3][4][5] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.[6] He has received two honorary doctorates and awards for promoting peace as well as other humanitarian awards.

His 1967 debut album and its title song "Matthew and Son" both reached top 10 in the UK charts. Stevens' albums Tea for the Tillerman (1970) and Teaser and the Firecat (1971) were certified triple platinum in the US.[7] His 1972 album Catch Bull at Four went to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and spent weeks at the top of several other major charts.[8][9] He earned ASCAP songwriting awards in 2005 and 2006 for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which has been a hit for four artists.[10] His other hit songs include "Father and Son", "Wild World", "Moonshadow", "Peace Train", and "Morning Has Broken".

Stevens converted to Islam in December 1977, and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year.[11][12] In 1979, he auctioned his guitars for charity, and left his musical career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community.[13] He has since bought back at least one of the guitars he sold as a result of the efforts of his son, Yoriyos.[14] Stevens was embroiled in a controversy regarding comments he made in 1989, about the fatwa placed on author Salman Rushdie in response to the publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. He has explained the incident stating: "I was cleverly framed by certain questions. I never supported the fatwa."[15]

In 2006, he returned to pop music by releasing his first new studio album of new pop songs in 28 years, titled An Other Cup.[16][17] With that release and subsequent ones, he dropped the surname "Islam" from the album cover art – using the stage name Yusuf as a mononym.[17] In 2009, he released the album Roadsinger and, in 2014, he released the album Tell 'Em I'm Gone and began his first US tour since 1978.[18] His second North American tour since his resurgence, featuring 12 shows in intimate venues, ran from 12 September to 7 October 2016.[19] In 2017, he released the album The Laughing Apple, now using the stage name Yusuf / Cat Stevens, using the Cat Stevens name for the first time in 39 years. In September 2020, he released Tea for the Tillerman 2, a reimagining of his album Tea for the Tillerman to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and in June 2023, King of a Land, a new studio album.

  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  2. ^ "BMG". 30 October 2015.
  3. ^ Kelly Boyer Sagert (1 January 2007). The 1970s. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 166–. ISBN 978-0-313-33919-6.
  4. ^ Alfred William Cramer (2009). Musicians & Composers of the 20th Century: Gram Parsons-Igor Stravinsky. Salem Press. pp. 1405–1406. ISBN 978-1-58765-516-6.
  5. ^ Amghar, Samir; Boubekeur, Amel; Emerson, Michael (2007). European Islam: Challenges for Public Policy and Society. CEPS. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-92-9079-710-4.
  6. ^ Locker, Melissa (17 December 2013). "A Guide To The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2014". Time.
  7. ^ RIAA – Gold and Platinum Archived 4 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 22 January 2011
  8. ^ Cat Stevens - Catch Bull at Four Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 12 February 2023
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993) (doc). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ASCAP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Fitzsimmons, Mick; Harris, Bob (5 January 2001). "Cat Stevens – A Musical Journey". Taped documentary interview synopsis. BBC2. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  12. ^ Islam, Yusuf. "Biography". catstevens.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  13. ^ Phillips, Mark; Faber, Judy (12 August 2007). "Yusuf Islam Reflects on His Return: Artist Once Known As Cat Stevens Talks About New Album". CBS Sunday Morning. CBS News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2009. This story originally aired on 3 December 2006.
  14. ^ "BBC One – The One Show, 21/04/2015". BBC.
  15. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (27 September 2020). "Yusuf Cat Stevens on Islam, the fatwa and playing guitar again". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  16. ^ Donahue, Ann (18 April 2009). "Yusuf Islam's past, present in harmony on new album". Reuters. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  17. ^ a b "Why Has Yusuf Dropped Islam From His Stage Name?". Chinese Whiskers-FAQs. YusufIslam.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  18. ^ Simon, Scott; NPR Staff (1 November 2014). "'It's A Bit of a Gift': Yusuf Islam on His Break And Return To Music". National Public Radio. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  19. ^ Blistein, Jon (9 August 2016). "Yusuf Islam Plots Intimate North American Tour". Rolling Stone.

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