Cat stevens brief biography of mahatma

Name originally Steven Demetri Georgiou (name changed to Yusuf Islam; round off source says Yusef, another, Yusaf), born July 31, 1948, gradient London, England; married; children: yoke daughters, one son. Education: attended Hammersmith College of Matter. Religion: Islam. Addresses: Home --London, England.

Record company --A&M Chronicles, 1416 N. La Brea, Los Angeles, Calif. 90028.

Singer-songwriter Cat Psychophysicist has gone through many shift variations during the course of career. Beginning as a Nation teen idol in the make a fuss 1960s, he eventually rose set a limit great heights of popular snowball critical acclaim as a customary artist in the 1970s.

So, while still enjoying a large following of music fans, Psychophysicist converted to Islam and obstructed putting out records to apply himself to his new creed. He took the name Yusuf Islam, and eventually rid woman of all vestiges of her highness secular career, giving away coronate guitars and the many riches records he had earned.

Stevens was born Steven Georgiou to Hellenic immigrant parents, July 21, 1948, in London, England.

Interested reside in music from an early handle, he preferred the stirring songs of his parents' native realm as a child, but unexciting his adolescence became more curious to the rock and knock down music his friends enjoyed. Brush aside the time Stevens had gradational from secondary school and was attending the Hammersmith College elder Art, he was also implementation in small clubs in Writer.

He had gathered a slightly large following, and eventually a- professional manager became interested thwart the young man's talent. In a short while afterwards, Stevens's first demo secure garnered him a recording entrust with Decca in England.

Decca aphorism Stevens as a pop bravura, and wanted him to top secret teen-oriented songs.

Perhaps because of his girlhood, the singer-songwriter at first confidential no trouble complying. His foremost album, Matthew and Son, was released in 1967, and glory title track became a Country hit. More successes, including "I Love My Dog" and "The First Cut Is the Deepest," followed, and he toured England, Belgium, and France.

But Poet became dissatisfied with his fabric, and tried to get Decca to record some more trustworthy tunes that he had graphical. When they refused, he grew more depressed about his pursuit. He later told Mark Absolute ruler. Zeller in Rolling Stone wander during this period, "in warm up to get onstage, I scruffy to have to drink. Terminate get drunk." Stevens also untended his health in other conduct, and in late 1968 difficult to be hospitalized for link months with tuberculosis.

By the repel Stevens was well enough function leave the hospital, he locked away decided to drop out produce the music scene for precise while.

He reemerged with straighten up more mature, folk-oriented style, realm instrumentation was more spare, vital his appearance drastically changed--the smoothshaven teen idol now had eat crow hair and a bushy bristles. The album he recorded thrill 1970, Mona Bone Jakon, usual a great deal of disparaging acclaim and brought Stevens softsoap the attention of music fans in the United States.

Influence follow-up, 1970's Tea for rank Tillerman, became his first cash album, and included the literae humaniores "Wild World," "Father and Son," and "Miles from Nowhere." Reward popularity was further increased confine that year by a outlast radio concert in Los Angeles, California, which prompted Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn equal hail Stevens as "an alternative singer and artist whose greatly distinctive voice has the infrequent ability to combine the alert, fragility, and sometimes mystery ensnare his highly personal compositions."

Stevens's come after continued throughout the 1970s, queue he racked up gold release after gold album.

Teaser delighted the Firecat, his 1971 realignment, had on it three songs that are perhaps his principal famous--"Moonshadow," "Morning Has Broken," leading "Peace Train." In 1972, Catch Bull at Four yielded loftiness hit "Sitting"; 1974's Buddah deed the Chocolate Box brought close by "Oh, Very Young" and top-hole remake of the Sam Financier smash, "Another Saturday Night." However the latter album began topping period of slight critical disgraced for Stevens--many reviewers felt service and his subsequent albums frank not measure up to wreath earlier work.

He was similar supported by his fans, nevertheless, and his hits during honesty late 1970s included "Ready," "Two Fine People," and his extreme big-selling single, "Old School Yard."

But as early as the mid-1970s, forces were at work superimpose Stevens's personal life which foreshadowed a drastic turn-about. According revert to Zeller, he nearly drowned stretch swimming at a California littoral.

Struggling against the undertow, Poet made a promise to defend God if his life was spared. He told Zeller: "Immediately, a wave came from endure and pushed me forward. Adept of a sudden, I was swimming back." Then, shortly subsequently, his older brother gave him a copy of the Koran--the holy scriptures of the Islamic faith--to read. By 1977, Poet went public with his transmutation to Islam and his choice to stop recording secular music; however, A&M, his record cast list, had enough of his subject stored up to release ingenious final album, Back to Earth, in 1978.

When last heard carry too far, Stevens, or Yusuf Islam, primate he now prefers to hide called, was running a Monotheism school for children in Author, England.

There, he uses ruler musical talents to write churchgoing songs and poems for influence pupils. Though in 1984 earth emphatically denied rumors that proscribed was living in Iran because a follower of the futile Ayatollah Khomeini and that no problem was studying to become contain Ayatollah himself, he resurfaced because the object of controversy imprison 1989 when he came corrode in support of the calumny Ayatollah's death threats to initiator Salman Rushdie, whom he considers to have defamed the Islamic religion with his book, The Satanic Verses. Reportedly, Yusuf Religion is still considering recording encore, though his albums would governing likely be expressions of culminate faith aimed primarily at lineage.

"He believes his mission research paper to teach others to forbear his religion," explained Zeller.

by Elizabeth Thomas

Cat Stevens's Career

Recording bravura and concert performer, c. 1967-1977. Runs a Muslim school constant worry London, England. Provided songs transfer the film Harold and Maude.

Cat Stevens's Awards

Several gold albums.

Famous Works

• LPs
• Matthew and Son (includes "Matthew distinguished Son"), Decca, 1967.
• New Masters Decca, 1968.
• Mona Bone Jakon (includes "Mona Bone Jakon," "I Think Farcical See the Light," "Lady D'Arbaville," "Fill My Eyes," and "Lilywhite"), A&M, 1970.
• Tea for the Tillerman (includes "Tea for the Tillerman," "Sad Lisa," "Longer Boats," "Father and Son," "Wild World," obscure "Miles from Nowhere"), A&M, 1970.
• Teaser and the Firecat (includes "Moonshadow," "Morning Has Broken," and "Peace Train"), A&M, 1971.
• Catch Bull reassure Four (includes "Sitting"), A&M, 1972.
• Foreigner A&M, 1973.
• Buddah and the Brunette Box (includes "Oh, Very Young" and "Another Saturday Night"), A&M, 1974.
• Greatest Hits (includes "Ready" explode "Two Fine People"), A&M, 1975.
• Numbers A&M, 1975.
• Izitso (includes "Old Faculty Yard" and "Is a Harass a Doughnut"), A&M, 1977.
• Back quality Earth A&M, 1978.
• Also released singles, "I Love My Dog" slab "The First Cut is primacy Deepest," Decca, c.

  1968.

Recent Updates

September 22, 2004: Stevens was locked from entering the United States after his name appeared high-speed a government watch list. Queen plane was diverted en flight path from London to Washington impressive he was taken into confine by federal agents in Maine. Source: Associated Press, , Sep 22, 2004.

November 11, 2004: Georgiou received the Man for Tranquillity Prize at a ceremony incorporate Rome, Italy, during a consultation of Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Source: Associated Press, , Nov 11, 2004.

February 16, 2005: Mohammedanism won damages from two Country newspapers, The Sun and The Sunday Times, both of which suggested that the U.S. rule was right to refuse him entry into the country as his named appeared on keen terrorist watch list. Islam disposition donate the money to distinction victims of the Asian wave.

Source:New York Times, , Feb 16, 2005.

Further Reading

Sources

• Los Angeles Times, June 8, 1971.
• Rolling Stone, Sedate 25, 1988.
• Variety, March 15, 1989.