Cat Stevens

**Yusuf Islam** (born **Steven Demetre Georgiou**; Template:Nowrap), commonly known by his stage name **Cat Stevens**, then **Yusuf Islam**, later simply **Yusuf** and eventually **Yusuf/Cat Stevens**, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, in his later career, Islamic music, before returning to secular music in 2006. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

His 1967 debut album and its title song "Matthew and Son" both reached top ten in the UK charts. Stevens' albums *Tea for the Tillerman* (1970) and *Teaser and the Firecat* (1971) were certified triple platinum in the US. His 1972 album *Catch Bull at Four* spent weeks at the top of several major charts. He earned ASCAP songwriting awards in 2005 and 2006 for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", and the song has been a hit for four artists. His other hit songs include "Father and Son", "Wild World", "Moonshadow", "Peace Train", and "Morning Has Broken".

In December 1977, Stevens converted to Islam and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all of his guitars for charity. He has since bought back at least one of these guitars as a result of the efforts of his son Yoriyos, and left his musical career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He was embroiled in a long-running controversy regarding comments he made in 1989 about the death fatwa on author Salman Rushdie. He has received two honorary doctorates and awards for promoting peace as well as other humanitarian awards.

In 2006, he returned to pop music – releasing his first new studio album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled *An Other Cup*. With that release and subsequent ones, he dropped the surname "Islam" from the album cover art – using the stage name Yusuf as a mononym. In 2009, he released the album *Roadsinger* and, in 2014, he released the album *Tell 'Em I'm Gone* and began his first US tour since 1978. His second North American tour since his resurgence, featuring 12 shows in intimate venues, ran from 12 September to 7 October 2016. In 2017, he released the album *The Laughing Apple*, now using the stage name Yusuf/Cat Stevens, using the Cat Stevens name for the first time in 39 years.

1. ↑ Template:Cite news
2. ↑ Template:Cite book
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5. ↑ "A Guide To The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014". Time. Retrieved 18 December 2013
6. ↑ RIAA – Gold and Platinum Template:Webarchive Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 22 January 2011
7. ↑ Billboard – Catch Bull at Four Allmusic. Retrieved 20 October 2011
8. ↑ Kent, David (1993) (doc). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W
9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `ASCAP`
10. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Mick (5 January 2001). Cat Stevens – A Musical Journey. *Taped documentary interview synopsis*. BBC2. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
11. ↑ Template:Cite news This story originally aired on 3 December 2006.
12. ↑ BBC One – The One Show, 21/04/2015.
13. ↑ Template:Cite news
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Why Has Yusuf Dropped Islam From His Stage Name?. *Chinese Whiskers-FAQs*. YusufIslam.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved on November 8, 2010.
15. ↑ Template:Cite news
16. ↑ Yusuf Islam Plots Intimate North American Tour (9 August 2016).