He was born in 1948 as Stephen Demetre Georgiou and raised in the Greek Orthodox Church. Cat Stevens parents ran a restaurant in London near the theater district and as a child he learned to play the piano. At age 15 he was smitten with The Beatles and convinced his father to buy him a guitar. At age 19, he signed a deal with with Decca Records and with the 1970 hit, "Wild World," became a star.
His first songs were "I Love My Dog," "Matthew and Son," and "The First Cut is the Deepest." In 1968 he began touring and induling in the Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle on the Jimi Hendrix Tour and contacted tuberculosis, which hospitalized him for several months. With time to reflect, his song lyrics became less commerical and more introspective such as "Morning Has Broken," "Peace Train," and "Moonshadow."
In 1975, while swimming in the Pacific Ocean off Malibu, he almost drowned. He was swept out to sea and cried out to God saying if you save me I will serve you. He read the Koran and converted to Islam. He changed his name to Yusaf Islam. In the 1990's he married and raised a family and focused on his faith and charitable work. He currently lives in Dubai and returned to music after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Cat Stevens/Yusaf Islam has sold over 100 million albums and had 14 songs on Billboard's Top 100. The book includes his background, influences, discography and achievements. It is a proper introduction of Cat Stevens for Generation Z.
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