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Posted on: Oct 12, '09

CAT STEVENS/YUSUF ISLAM

CAT
STEVENS

YUSUF
ISLAM

SINGER
SONG
WRITER

Further to Linda's Lyrics Blog
Linda(suchislife_ia) THANK YOU LINDA
http://www.fropper.com/posts/38414
Please Find More Information on This Extra-Ordinary Artiste.
THIS IS TO START-OFF EVERYONE TO POST BLOGS ABOUT THEIR FAVORITE SINGERS/SONGWRITERS & LYRICS PLEASE.
YUSUF ISLAM (born Steven Demetre Georgiou, 21 July 1948), Best known by his former stage name CAT STEVENS, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.
His albums TEA FOR THE TILEMAN & TEASER & FIRECAT were both certified as Triple Platinum in U.S.A; his album CATCH BULL AT FOUR sold half a million copies in the first 2 Wks.of release alone, Number-one LP for 3-Wks.. He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years, for "THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST", which has been a hit single for four different artists.
STEVENS converted to ISLAM at the height of his fame in December, 1977 and adopted his Muslim name, YUSUF ISLAM, In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars away for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music, with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled AN ANOTHER CUP. He now goes by the single name Yusuf.
He currently lives with his wife and children in LONDON, and spends part of each year in DUBAI.
His newest album, ROADSINGER, was released on May 5, 2009.
Among the MUSICIANS who influenced him were BOB DYLAN, NINA SIMONE, blues artists LEADBELLY& MUDDY WATERS, JOHN LENNON, BILL ROSE, LEO KOTTKE,& PAUL SIMON.. He also wanted to emulate COMPOSERS who wrote musicals, like IRA GERSHWIN and LEONARD BERNSTEIN. In 1965 he signed a publishing deal with Ardmore & Beechwood and cut several demos, including "The First Cut Is the Deepest" a song he sold for £30 to P.P. ARNOLD that was to become a massive hit for her, and an international hit for KEITH HAMPSHIRE, ROD STEWART, JAMES MORRISON, & SHERYL CROW. Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him two back-to-back ASCAP "Songwriter of the Year" awards, in 2005 and 2006
GEORGIOU began to perform his songs in COFFEE HOUSES & PUBS.. At first he tried forming a band, but soon realised he preferred performing solo. Thinking that his given name might not be memorable to prospective fans, he chose a stage name CAT STEVENS, in part because a girlfriend said he had EYES LIKE CAT, but mainly because he said, "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals.
In 1966, at age 18, he impressed manager/producer Mike Hurst, formerly of British vocal group THE SPRINGFIELDS, with his songs and Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and then helped him get a record deal. The first singles were hits. "I LOVE MY DOG"(one of my favorite songs) charted at No.28, and "MATTHEW AND SON", the title song from his debut album, went to No.2. "I'M GONNA GET ME A GUN" reached Britain's Top 10, and the album Matthew and Son itself began charting. The original version of the The TREMELOES cover hit, "HERE COMES MY BABY", was written and recorded by Stevens. THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST" (1967) - Great Song to Listen to If You Get A Chance
Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Engelbert Humperdinck. The music business hadn't yet begun targeting specific audiences, so he frequently toured with what now would be considered an unusual array of celebrities. Stevens was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the British pop music charts. Some of that success was attributed to the pirate radio station Wonderful Radio London, which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he went on the air with other recording artists who had benefited from the station to mourn its closure.

Worth Visiting The You Tube Site for Some of the Songs - http://www.youtube.com

PLEASE SHARE YOUR BLOGS ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE SINGERS, SONGS or LYRICS - LOOK FORWARD TO READING ABOUT THEM.

Tags: suchislife

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Heart_Of_Paradise said:
Cat Stevens is no exception he is an All-rounder in various fields and Great to know more about this Jovial Personality and also he is such an individual who came into lime-light with his inner-strength and also his spirit to achieve desired Goals was amazing and he did that with aplomb

Excellent Narration of events related to down-to-earth personality....

October 16, '09

bablee66 said:
thats amazing post..thanx Hass for sharing !!

October 14, '09

BALACHANDRANIYER said:

October 13, '09

VIJAY1994 said:
NICE BLOGS ! THANKS FOR SHARING

October 13, '09

Ledzep said:
check out the cat stevens video i've put up...

cheers!

October 13, '09

Goodwill2001 said:
Nice
GOOD WILL AMBASSADOR OF 63 COUNTRIES WHO BORN AND BROUGHT UP IN INDIA

October 13, '09

ishan2102 said:

October 12, '09

suchislife_ia said:
I was heart broken when he left the music scene, and just as happy when he did return. When I was in high school my girlfriend and I both argued about which of us loved him the most. We both had a crush on a boy who moved to our school and roamed the halls with his own guitar, singing Cat Stevens songs. I love the way he seems to float up off of his stool while performing his music.
I had a very interesting net experience where he is concerned. For some time I chatted long hours with a friend from Pakistan. I was telling him about Cat Stevens, because his web-cam view reminded me a lot of him. He then showed me a newspaper with an article about Cat Stevens. He was reading all those song titles which I knew so well, and showing me photo's of him and his family within the article over webcam. It was one of my most memorable and coincidental web experiences. Thanks for the background information Haas!!

October 12, '09

gentlemoon said:
Good info, thanks for sharing

October 12, '09

skhawa said:

Nice ones. Thanx 4 sharing Sir!

October 12, '09

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