He married Fauzia Ali in a religious ceremony and the couple had five children. If I was going to make the change, I had to get away from that." He later said, "The music business was filled with things like vanity, fornication and drug use. While the Qur'an did not prohibit music he felt he had to give up music to become a true Muslim. He sold his guitars and gold records and gave the money to charity. You have to find the right path and when you do, you know it." Cat Stevens walked off stage as Yusuf Islam never intending to perform again. At the end of the concert, he told the audience, "We've only got one life and you have to do the best with it. He kept his conversion out of the public eye and gave his final concert as Cat Stevens at Wembley Arena in 1979. He took the name "Yusuf," Arabic for Joseph. He realized he didn't want to be Cat Stevens anymore. He felt the same way about himself and his place in the music industry. Stevens identified with the Biblical story of Joseph, a man who was bought and sold in the marketplace. "No matter what I tried to say in my songs, they were all part of the shadow. His brother David gave him a copy of the Qur'an. "What arose within me was a deep conviction that ultimately there is a higher control over one's life."
The near-death experience rekindled his yearning for a spiritual life. Certain he was about to drown, he shouted, "God! If you save me I will work for you." A large wave appeared and carried him back to shore. He struggled for several minutes losing all his strength. He was caught in a riptide and taken far from shore. He continued touring, donating his profits to UNESCO.ĭuring a 1976 trip to Los Angeles, Stevens visited the Malibu home of Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M. In 1973, he moved to Rio de Janeiro and became a British tax exile. He despised the competition and greed, feeling like a pawn subject to the whims of managers and record executives. Stevens was becoming disillusioned with the music industry. Fans made pilgrimages to the Stevens' home and were often invited in for tea by his father. Though he'd become one of the biggest rock stars in the world, he still lived with his parents. They included the hit songs "Trouble," "Where Do the Children Play," "Wild World," "Moonshadow" and "Peace Train." Film Director Hal Ashby used nine Stevens' songs for the dark comedy Harold And Maude, introducing his music to a wider audience. Stevens signed with A&M Records and released Mona Bone Jakon (1970), Tea For The Tillerman (1971) and Teaser and the Firecat (1972), all Gold Records. His songs embraced a folk-rock style with introspective lyrics about everyday problems and spiritual questions. He covered the mirrors in his hospital room "to get away from the external and to start digging deep" into himself.Īfter a year of convalescence, Stevens returned to music with a new beard and a new sound. He immersed himself in spiritual and religious texts. He took up meditation and yoga and became a vegetarian. While in the hospital, he began to question his life.
In 1968, Stevens contracted tuberculosis and nearly died. Hendrix introduced him to psychedelics and Stevens spent the next few years overindulging in drugs and alcohol. Cat Stevens became a teen idol touring the country with Jimi Hendrix and Engelbert Humperdinck.
He changed his name to "Cat" because a girlfriend said he had "cat eyes." He was signed to a record deal and his 1966 song "I Love My Dog" reached #2 on the British charts. He escaped to the Soho rooftops, a quiet refuge he called "the Upper World." He began writing and playing his own songs influenced by the Beatles, the Kinks and Nina Simone.īy 18, he was performing in London coffee houses and pubs. When he was 15, his father bought him a guitar. They owned and lived above a restaurant called Moulin Rouge where he was put to work washing dishes at a young age. His father was a Greek Cypriot and his mom was Swedish. He was born Steven Georgiou in London in 1948. He played to 40,000 seat arenas and hung out with the likes of Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan. Thirty years earlier he was one of the biggest rock stars in the world. Yusuf Islam was not always treated this way. Homeland Security officials explained the man had associations with potential terrorists. He was flown back to England the next day. His daughter was allowed to continue traveling but the man was denied entry to the United States. "Do you spell your name Y-O-U-S-U-F?" "It's Y-U-S-U-F," the man answered. "Are you Yusuf Islam," the agents demanded. Six federal agents came aboard and took into custody a 57-year old British man traveling with his 21-year old daughter. On September 21, 2004, a United Airlines flight traveling from London to Washington D.C.