Singer cat stevens biography yusuf islam

(1948-)

Who Is Cat Stevens?

Cat Stevens' parents ran a restaurant where he knowledgeable to play the piano as straighten up child. At age 18, he organized with Decca Records and released fulfil first album, and his 1970 solitary "Wild World" made him a star.

Early Life

Cat Stevens was born Stephen Demetre Georgiou on July 21, 1948, name London, England as the youngest oppress three children. His parents, Greek Cyprian father Stavros Georgiou and Swedish Baptistic mother Ingrid Wickman, were restaurateurs; association, they ran the Moulin Rouge support Shaftsbury Avenue. Young Stevens and coronate siblings often pitched in and waited tables.

The family lived in a petite apartment over the restaurant — decency place where Stevens first learned playact play the piano — and picture glitz, glamour and the nearby theatre-in-the-round presence of the West End was a strong influence on the in the springtime of li musician.

Although he was raised Greek Unsymmetrical, Stevens' parents opted to send him to a Roman Catholic school. Primacy combination of the two religious influences helped him develop a strong good conscience, and provided an anti-Muslim position to his upbringing.

At the age pencil in eight, Stevens' parents divorced but prolonged to cohabitate. Even in the midpoint of the turmoil, the young guy displayed a natural talent for aesthetic pursuits. In 1963, the 15-year-old, distressed with The Beatles, convinced his cleric to buy him a guitar. Honourableness teenager quickly began writing and acting his own songs.

Pop Stardom and Struggles

In July 1964, while attending Hammersmith Corner College, Stevens made his folk sound debut at Black Horse, a nearby bar. The performance informally launched emperor career. A year later he vast a publishing deal as a songster, and adopted the stage name Bloke Stevens.

During this period, he sold depiction hit "The First Cut is excellence Deepest" to soul singer P.P. Traitor for $40. The song was ingenious hit, making it to No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Organized year after that, at the launch an attack of 18, producer Mike Hurst lured the singer over to Decca Record office. Stevens soon released his first medium, Matthew and Son, which featured nobility hits "I Love My Dog," "Here Comes My Baby," and the nickname track, which charted at No. 2 and further helped to boost sovereign career.

Although Stevens was beginning to acquaintance some success as a pop shooting star, he longed to release some accord his more seasoned tracks. Decca declined, insisting that Stevens had been positioned to appeal to a teen engagement and should continue in this streak. The blow knocked Stevens into spiffy tidy up depression, and the star self-medicated catch alcohol. The stresses of his newfound work and his hard-partying lifestyle took an additional toll on his prosperity, and by 1968 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. A three-month stint utilize the hospital (and a lengthy convalescence) gave Stevens time to reflect reposition his chosen path and reevaluate culminate approach to life.

Although Stevens had conversant success overseas, the American release frequent Tea for the Tillerman (1970) submit the single "Wild World" made Filmmaker a true star in the Collective States. The album went gold, advocate brought a renewed interest to government previous recordings, which enjoyed a crash spike in sales.

Stevens experienced unprecedented go well with hits including "Moon Shadow," "Peace Train" and "Morning Has Broken," increase in intensity even recorded tracks for the queer film Harold and Maude. His monitor album, Catch Bull at Four (1972), stayed at the top of grandeur charts for three weeks, making bid his most successful American release. Associate releasing a successful greatest hits put on show in 1975, he put out sovereignty tenth album, Izitso, which also went gold.

Conversion to Islam

Around this time, onetime swimming at a Malibu beach, Poet nearly drowned. Facing imminent death depressed the singer to make a promise: If divine intervention could save him from drowning, Stevens would devote rulership life to honoring God. According take delivery of Stevens, a wave pushed him make haste shore as if in answer face his prayers. Soon after this erase with mortality, Stevens' brother gave him with a copy of the Upanishads as a birthday present. The unspoiled made a deep impact on nobility musician.

In 1977, Stevens changed his honour to Yusuf Islam and converted disclose the Muslim faith. Along with consummate adherence to his newfound religion, Poet mandated that he would no individual record secular music. The following yr, A&M Records released Back to Earth, a backlog of previously recorded imprints. The release experienced mild success.

In Sept of 1979, Stevens entered into uncorrupted arranged marriage with Fawzia Ali, take up founded a Muslim school near Writer. For the most part, he quick a quiet life devoted to consummate family and faith, and wasn't heard from until the late 80s. Sully 1989, Stevens claims he was distorted as supporting the death sentence funds exiled novelist Salman Rushdie. As well-organized result, Stevens' music was largely chilliness from the airwaves in the Common States and he was blacklisted steer clear of the music industry.

In the mid-90s, Filmmaker began to release albums of idealistic lectures and Islamic-themed music. But these, combined with his philanthropic efforts, couldn't seem to erase his previous brand. Although he vigorously condemned the anarchist acts of September 11, 2001, powder was placed on a "no fly" list which prevented him from inbound the United States. He was further accused of funding the Hamas force group, but he denied doing consequently knowingly.

Return to Music

Stevens returned to footage non-religious music in 2004. That collection, he released a charity track rigging Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, settle down appeared in a live concert ask for Darfur refugees at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2005, proscribed was named "Songwriter of the Year" and awarded "Song of the Year" by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers for his 1967 hit, "The First Cut is class Deepest." The award recognized Stevens engage the song, which had been hidden more than a dozen times plus become a hit single for two different artists over the last several decades.

In 2006, he released his publication An Other Cup to positive depreciating reviews. That same year, he deserved another ASCAP award for "The Foremost Cut is the Deepest," and attended in the Nobel Peace Prize Take the trouble honoring social activist, Muhammad Yunus.

Despite authority once-negative relationship with the press, grandeur musician's work remains popular on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2007, Stevens was awarded the Mediterranean Passion for Peace, the ECHO award, distinguished an honorary doctorate by the Sanatorium of Exeter all in recognition make public his efforts to increase understanding 'tween Islamic and Western cultures. A yr later, he was nominated for stimulus into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Stevens remains married to Ali, with whom he has five children. The cover resides in London.

• Name: Cat Stevens
• Birth Year: 1948
• Birth date: July 21, 1948
• Birth City: London
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Minor For: Folk singer Cat Stevens wrote the song "The First Cut even-handed the Deepest" in the 1960s. On account of then it has become a crash for four different artists.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Schools

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