First he was Steven Georgiou, but he became world famous as Cat Stevens. Songs like "Peace Train," "Wild World," "Morning Has Broken," "Moon Shadow," and a host of others made Cat Stevens one of the most familiar names in music. Then in 1977, he became Yusuf Islam, converting to Islam and leaving the music world for nearly 30 years. When he returned, with 2006's An Other Cup, it was with a slightly shorter name - just Yusuf.
During the years he was largely out of sight, he was not entirely out of mind. Even before 9/11, there has been a kind of suspicion of Islam here in the States, and general consensus seemed to be that Cat Stevens must've been a kook to convert. And when he tried to explain to a London college how a fatwa fit into Islamic law, he was perceived as having supported the call to kill author Salman Rushdie, who was accused of blasphemy in his book The Satanic Verses. Later still, he was denied entry to the US by the Department of Homeland Security for reasons that have still not been completely explained to everyone's satisfaction, but which seem to have to do with either a) Israel claiming that some of Yusuf's philanthropy had gone to Hamas - a claim he denies vehemently, or b) a case of mistaken identity.
Anyway, the conversion and name change were not great career moves for the former Cat Stevens. But his music continues to resonate, and when Ricky Gervais, creator of the hit British comedy series The Office (from which the Steve Carell-led US show derives) started his next series, called Extras, he chose the Cat Stevens song "Tea for the Tillerman" - all 80 seconds of it - as his theme music for the end of each episode. I have to admit that back in the 70s I was a kid who liked rock that rocked hard, and was not a particular fan of Cat Stevens, but I remember watching the first episode of Extras , probably in 2006, and hearing his song at the end and realizing - wow, this guy knew how to write.
His return to recording in 2006 was not a return to form, and even he seems to feel it was a tentative first step back. But the new album, Roadsinger, will probably do very well with fans of the old Cat Stevens. In any case, Steven/Cat/Yusuf, welcome back.
Tell us: Did your view of Cat Stevens' music change when he converted? Do you like Yusuf's new work?
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John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.
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