Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Cat Stevens for Y?


Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens was one of my favorite singers in the early 70s. He still is today. I think I have three, maybe four of his vinyl albums, and of course, a greatest hits CD!



He converted to Islam at the end of 1977, and changed his name to Yusuf Islam the next year. Today he goes by the single name, Yusuf -- which means Joseph in the Arabic language.



In 1979 he left his music career behind and auctioned all his guitars for charity.  He then devoted himself to educational and humanitarian causes and has received several awards for his work in promoting world peace. In 2006 he returned to the recording world with the release of his first album in twenty-eight years, entitled An Other Cup.  I, of course, have the CD.

I found these two interviews with Yusuf about his musical journey and his life. They are beautifully done and have many of the songs on An Other Cup, as well as some well-know Cat Stevens songs, as the background music. 

Part One

Part Two

Because this is from the official Yusuf YouTube channel, I'm not able to upload the video. 
But I hope you'll click on the links and listen!



These are some of my favorite Cat Stevens songs

"Morning has Broken"


The lyrics in this song are from a hymn published in 1931 with words by poet Eleanor Farjeon


"Wild World"


from the album Tea for the Tillerman


"Peace Train"
this is probably his most famous -- he always used it as his closing number in concerts


recorded in 1971 on the album Teaser and the Firecat

I could go on and on.....


Oh wow! Only one more letter and this session will be over!
Who will be the band for Z? Stay tuned!

linking over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter Y.

Jenny Matlock

♥♥

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an interesting person!

carol l mckenna said...

Oh one of favorites too! Great post for Y ~ very creative!

Eden House News and views said...

It was not surprising that Yusuf turned to Islam his music has a very religous tone briliant Morning has broken is my fav

debra @ HOMESPUN said...

I remember liking him when I was young! :)

VBR said...

my favorite is Moonshadow.
he really has a wonderful voice.

Pondside said...

He is a wonderful artist, and I've saved the links to enjoy at the end of the day.
'Z' - it will be a challenge!

Sheryl Hastings said...

I can't believe this post! I was so in love with Cat Stevens back in the 70's! I was so bummed when he left the music business.

My favorite songs were Sad Liza and Where Do The Children Play.

What a blast from the past!!!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I've always liked him also. What a great man!

If you haven't seen "Searching for Sugar Man" yet, you really should. I'll bet you would love the story AND the music. The guy is a poet!

Susan Anderson said...

I love him. Always have.

The Wind is my favorite.

=)

Unknown said...

What a very interesting post and this man rocks!

Esther Joy said...

"Morning has broken" speaks to me - guess because I am a morning person!

Memories for Life said...

Clever Y post :)
Oooo...will Z be ZZ Top? Zeplin? Zappa? Lots of good Z bands!

Anonymous said...

I still love Cat too -- sorry he left the music biz though I gather he has found some sort of peace that probably wasn't there as a famous musician. Good for him, too bad for us.

Splendid Little Stars said...

LOVE Cat Stevens! had his albums, played his songs on guitar!

Your Invisible Crown said...

I used to hear his music all the time as a kid, because my mom played it a lot. Interesting to read what happened later. Did he change his musical style after his return to music?

Gattina said...

I think I never heard these songs, and his name doesn't say anything to me. I honestly prefer "Cat" to "Yusuf" Cat sounds far better in my (cat) ears.

Jenny said...

I love Cat Stevens!

Yippee for a fun link for the letter "Y".

A+

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