In case you’re wondering about the ‘band’ bit in the title, I did say when I began this series that I would occasionally be featuring solo artists as well as bands, but somehow ‘Listen to the Singer-Songwriter’ didn’t quite have the right ring to it. It has been just over a month since the last of this occasional series appeared – the one featuring The Eagles and their notoriously prohibitive record company – but I’ve now recovered from all of the amendments I had to make to find videos that I was allowed to use. Well, I thought I had, but I’ve just checked and found that two more have been taken down, so more adjustments will be made after I finish this piece. In coming back for another go I’m keeping everything crossed that my latest subject doesn’t have an unpleasant record company!
Today I’m featuring Cat Stevens, whose music has been an important part of my life for more than fifty years. Cat was born as Steven Demetre Georgiou in July 1948, but changed to his stage name as he thought his real name might be difficult for people to remember when they were in record shops. He chose ‘Cat’ as a girlfriend said he had the eyes of a cat, and ‘Britons liked animals,’ and kept his first name as it was also easier to pronounce. He started recording his songs in 1966, and his debut album, Matthew And Son, was released in March 1967, reaching #7 in the UK albums chart, and #173 in the US. His first single was I Love My Dog, released in 1966, peaking at #28 in the UK and #118 in the US. The title track from the album was his second single, and gave him a big hit in the UK, where it got to #2, though it only made #115 in the US. For those who know his main catalogue, the style of this one may come as a surprise:
He was 18 at the time of that – he really does look so young! His second album, New Masters, was released in December 1967, but failed to have an impact on the charts anywhere. But it did give us this song:
I chose that version rather than his original recording, as he gives it his heart and soul, which I don’t think can really be said of any of the cover versions which have hit the charts. He sold the song for £30 to P.P. Arnold, who did the best cover of it that I know, and took it to #18 in the UK charts in 1967. You may also know the covers by Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow, but I’m not tempted to play them – after all, as the man in the video says, Rod didn’t write it!
After the failure of his second album, Cat became disillusioned with those around him, and engaged in a kind of sabotage act to get out from underneath his record contract: he wanted to find someone more sympathetic to the folk-rock style he was writing in, rather than overblown orchestral arrangements. He was then stricken with tuberculosis, and was near to death on being admitted to hospital, where he spent several months and, in total, a year of convalescence. From Wikipedia:
“During this time Stevens began to question aspects of his life and spirituality. He later said, “to go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut.” He took up meditation, yoga, and metaphysics; read about other religions; and became a vegetarian. As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs, many of which would appear on his albums in years to come.“
After his enforced absence, he managed to escape his record company and found a much more sympathetic home at Island Records, for whom he signed in early 1970. He was assigned Paul Samwell-Smith, formerly the bass player with The Yardbirds, as his producer, and PS-S introduced him to Alun Davies, to be his guitar and vocal accompanist. Thus began a working partnership and friendship which has lasted to this day. The songs he had been writing started being released fairly soon, with two albums in 1970 and another in 1971. The first of these was Mona Bone Jakon, which was released in April 1970, charting at #63 in the UK and #64 in the US. The title, by the way, is a nickname he made up for his wedding tackle – I bet you didn’t know that before! This was the lead single from the album:
I still think that is a beautifully touching ode to his then girlfriend, Patti D’Arbanville, an American actress and model, who worked on several projects with Andy Warhol. The single reached #8 in the UK, but didn’t chart in the US.
The second 1970 album was Tea For The Tillerman, released in November of that year. This was his real breakthrough album: it got to #20 in the UK but was a big US hit, reaching #8. It is a long-time favourite of mine, so I’m going to give you three tracks from it. To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary last year, Cat re-recorded the songs and released the album as Tea For The Tillerman 2. Several videos were made for this, and this is one of my favourites:
That is simply lovely. The song’s message is even more powerful now than it was fifty years ago, and the video is terrific. This is one that has never been released as a single, so may not be familiar to you, but I think it deserves to be heard! I saw him play live in 2009, as part of a series of concerts to mark the 50th anniversary of Island Records. He began with a track from his newly released album, and then played this: you could have heard a pin drop, apart from the audience singing quietly along with him. We were all word perfect, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!
This next one is, I think, one of his best:
That wasn’t released as a single here, as the cover version by Jimmy Cliff – which is excellent – had been a big hit, but it was a #11 in the US and #14 in Canada.
I promised you three tracks from this album, and this is the third. Again, I’m giving you the reworked version from last year, with its new video:
I think that is stunningly good. There have been a number of cover versions of the song over the years, most of them absolutely dire (remember Groaning Ronan?), but it has taken the man himself to come up with the perfect cover of his own song. The change in his voice over the intervening fifty years is quite subtle, but is sufficiently pronounced to add a whole new depth to the two voice parts in the song. I absolutely love this one.
Cat’s next album was released in October 1971: Teaser And The Firecat. The cover for this depicted a lovely painting of the title characters – a little boy and his cat – who were also in a book he wrote for children. This has recently been republished, and it sounds lovely. After he left the music industry in 1978 – following his conversion to Islam – he devoted himself to charitable work, providing education for children. The organisation I used to work for did some projects with the school he ran – sadly, in my visits there I never got to see the library and find a copy of it. I’m sure he won’t remember meeting me there once, either – a brief ‘hello’ and handshake won’t have been enough to place me indelibly in his mind! The album was his most successful at that point, reaching #2 in both the US and the UK, and #1 in Australia. The single from it that most will remember is Morning Has Broken, his version of a 1931 hymn written by Eleanor Farjeon, which reached #9 in the UK and #6 in the US, but I always preferred this one, which was the first to be taken as a single release, and this charming animation from three years ago introduces you to Teaser and his Firecat:
That reached #22 in the UK and #30 in the US. Frankly, I think he was robbed!
Cat released an album a year for the next four years, missed a year, then one each in 1977 and 1978. Commercially, he enjoyed huge success. Catch Bull At Four, released in 1972 (three days before I went to university, so I just had time to buy it and take it with me) also got to #2 in the UK but gave him his first (and only) #1 in the US. 1973’s Foreigner was #3 in both the US and the UK, and then came Buddha And The Chocolate Box in 1974, from which this comes:
Oh Very Young reached #10 in the US but didn’t chart in the UK. The album, however, fared much better, peaking at #3 in the UK and #2 in the US. He subsequently released three further albums – Numbers, Izitso and Back To Earth – which were moderately successful in chart terms in comparison with his heyday. He continued to do better in the US than the UK, though.
There followed a long period when he was out of the public eye in musical terms, but he continued his interest, using music as part of his religious involvements. The Wikipedia article on him, from which I have drawn for this piece, gives much more detail on this if you’d like to follow it up. He returned to popular music again, under the name Yusuf, in 2006 with the release of his album An Other Cup, which reached #20 in the UK and #52 in the US. He followed that in 2009 with Roadsinger, which was released a few weeks before I saw him play live, and reached #10 in the UK and #41 in the US. This is the title track from that album:
He’s still got it, hasn’t he. That voice, and those intelligent, caring lyrics, which always make us think. He has since released three further albums, all of which have enjoyed some chart success. Last year’s reworking of Tea For The Tillerman 2 actually peaked at #4 in the UK, which is better than the 1970 original version! That was the album that first really drew me in to his music – I caught up with Mona Bone Jakon on the back of buying it. Tea For The Tillerman closes with its brief title track, and last year’s version did too. It seems a suitable way to leave this post:
I hope you’ve enjoyed allowing me to indulge my love of Cat Stevens’ music, and that you have found something here that you like. I’ve shared more songs than I intended, but leaving any of these out just wouldn’t have felt right. I’ll see you again soon for another in-depth look at one of my musical favourites.
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Great post.. love Cat Stevens. Nice to meet you. I see you on Yvette’s post often and thought I’d visit. 💖
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Hi Cindy. Thanks for dropping in and the post likes, and nice to meet you too. I’m glad you enjoyed this – as you will have seen Cat is someone whose music has been very important to me. I’ll look out for you on Yvette’s blog 😊
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You’re so welcome Clive.
I sure did and I’ll look forward to hearing more about why. Thanks a lot. Sounds like a plan and visit when you get a chance. All the best.
Happy Thursday 🌷
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oh wow, just seeing you did visit and follow too.. Thank you kindly. I just followed you as well and will look forward to seeing more of your work. 👏👏👏👏👏
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A composite reply to your two comments! Happy to follow and thank you for doing the same. Looking forward to seeing more from you too 😊
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Oh that’s very kind.. I see why you are loved in our blogging world. me too!💖💖🙏
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That’s even more kind of you to say! Thank you so much 💖
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You’re so welcome💖❣️
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Hi
I also think wild world is one of his best!
Such a good song
Good post C
🎶🤍
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Thanks, Yvette. He has so many great songs that it’s hard to choose from them. I had to leave out so many! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
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🙂
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Absolutely love ”Where do the children play” the video is so very current 🙂 x
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It updates the song perfectly, I think x
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Clive, well done. Your selections from many of his hits are terrific. Each are well done and well known. He has a voice that charms the listener, along with his music and marvelous lyrics. Keith
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Thank you, Keith. I had no problem finding songs for this one: the problem was deciding what to leave out!
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My favorite Cat Stevens/Yusuf tune is still The First Cut is the Deepest. I like the video you chose for that. Unlike many again singers, his voice has hung in there well.
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It’s a great song, isn’t it, like so many of his. I’m glad you liked that video – I too was impressed at the way his voice held the feeling of the song, and the little side swipe at Rod Stewart was good too 😊
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I came board after Matthew and Son which I must have driven everybody mad playing especially with the B side of the single which I adored ‘Granny’ Superb LP’s and singles followed…Where do the children play was a great track. Between Jimmy Cliff and Cat was a draw for me with Wild World. He’s given me a lot of pleasure over the years.
Hugs
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I only really took to him after he came back from his illness and released Lady D’Arbanville and Mona Bone Jakon, but that early video is fun, from a time when they were fairly new. As I said in the piece, his music has been an integral part of my listening ever since. So many great songs…
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I will always love Cat Stevens. He was part of my youth.
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Mine too. I was 17 when I first bought one of his albums, and his music has been with me ever since.
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A huge one for me early on, Clive. I came in with Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman, and have always had a soft spot, even though the religious stuff left me behind! And yes, he sounds nearly better than ever. Great post
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I’m glad you share my liking for his music, Enda. It’s 50 years since I first bought one of his albums, and I wouldn’t be without them.
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Tea for the tillerman , steak for the sun….
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Wine for the woman who made the rain come…
She must have been pretty drunk for the past few days!
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I have always loved Cat Stephens, Clive. You have included great songs. My favourite is Father and Son.
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I’m glad you like him too, Robbie. The hard part for me was choosing what to leave out, as he has made so many great records.
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Yes, a great artist.
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I think my favourite is ‘Father and Son’. Lovely one of his.
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I love the way he has reworked this, and the video is fabulous.
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what a tribute to one of my favorite musicians. I just mentioned yesterday in a comment on another post that Cat Stevens is at the top of my list of acts I would like to see, but have not yet done so. And how cool that you got to meet him.
As you note, that first song is not what you expect from Cat, but you can still pick out his distinctive voice.
I was not familiar with Roadsinger. I had the lyrics up while I watched the video. You are right, he still has it, the voice and the words are wonderful.
Tea for the Tillerman is probably one of my top five favorite albums. Every song is so good, so thanks for sharing so many, and with those wonderful videos to accompany them.
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I almost got to meet him properly after the show I went to. I was standing with a bunch of people from the record company, and they were keeping their spare wrist band for me, until Chris Blackwell’s son came up and took it for his girlfriend, who’d lost hers. A pity, as I might have had the chance for a longer chat!
That first one is very much the early pop singer version, when he had no control over how his records were made and promoted, but it’s still recognisably him.
I wanted to include one of his later ones, to show that he is still as good as ever at writing and singing his songs. That one is lovely, isn’t it.
Tillerman and Teaser are my two favourites of his. Those new videos from last year are very special.
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so close; who does this Blackwell guy think he is? 🙂
I agree that the new videos are wonderful…
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Just the guy who started the record company, no one important really.
Some of the re-recordings aren’t as good as the originals, for me – especially Wild World. But the videos are all superb.
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well without fans like you, there is no record company!
and there were a couple of my favorites missing, which I think I have mentioned before: The Wind and On the Road to Find out
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On The Road To Find Out is one where I preferred the original. This is the new version, see what you think: https://youtu.be/69yOu8hrQ6Q
And The Wind was missing because it’s on Teaser And The Firecat!
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I had not seen that newer version, and I agree with you, I much prefer the original. It’s quite different…
I had no idea what album The WInd was on; just noting that it is one of my faves 🙂
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It is, isn’t it, and I don’t like the way he slowed it down. Clever video, though.
Ah, I get you. When you said it was missing I thought you meant from the remakes – keeping my fingers crossed he does the same thing for Teaser’s 50th this year too.
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that would be great if he does the same thing for Teaser…
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Wouldn’t it just! I’ll keep watch for any news on Facebook.
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I’m sure I’ll find out from your blog!
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Rest assured I’ll feature anything I find!
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👍
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He is a very talented musician and has aged well. I love The First Cut and his own version is the best. Although I also like Bryan Adam´s version. When I met hubby he had the Buddha And The Chocolate Box album and we listened to it a lot. The album cover was so nice to look at too. A great selection here.
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There are several versions of that song, Darlene, but I’ve never heard one by Bryan Adams. I’ll have to look it out. For me, Cat’s original is the best, but P P Arnold gets an honourable mention. Glad you liked the selection – as you can probably tell, I incline more towards his early 70s albums 😊
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