British musician (born 1948)
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He wrote "Wild World" and "Father and Son," sold over 100 million records, then walked away at the height of fame in the late 1970s after converting to Islam — auctioning his guitars and going silent for nearly three decades.
Born Steven Demetre Georgiou in 1948, he broke through in 1967 with "Matthew and Son" and became a defining voice of early-'70s folk-rock: Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat went triple platinum, Catch Bull at Four hit No. 1 in the US, and "The First Cut Is the Deepest" became a standard. In December 1977 he converted to Islam, took the name Yusuf Islam, released one last album in 1979, then left music entirely to work in education and charity. A 1989 controversy over comments about the Salman Rushdie fatwa shadowed him for years; he later said he'd been framed by loaded question…
Sourced, dated quotes from Cat Stevens
The last place I wanted to return to was the music business. But it's the people and the cause that matter and right now there's an important need, which is bridge-building.
I wanted a break. I had been on the road more or less since I was 18, you know?
We understand the anger, the anguish and suffering which this act of international terrorism has created amongst people.
I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday.
I'm very sad that this seems to be the No. 1 question people want to discuss. I had nothing to do with the issue other than what the media created.
The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.
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