(Credits: Far Out / IMDB)
Yusuf, initially named Steven Demetre Georgiou, is understood greatest by his unique stage title, Cat Stevens. It was underneath this alias that he made his most profound impression on the singer-songwriter wave of the late Nineteen Sixties and ’70s. Stevens achieved breakthrough success in 1967 together with his debut album Matthew and Son, which soared into the UK high ten fuelled by its eponymous single.
Notably, Stevens reached the top of his profession with albums like Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat, each reaching triple platinum standing throughout the Atlantic. His legacy was sealed by the mid-Nineteen Seventies, however dramatic chapters have been nonetheless to come back.
In 1975, whereas paddling off the coast of Malibu, California, the songwriter discovered himself besieged by a riptide, struggling for survival in opposition to the highly effective currents. Faced with the approaching menace of loss of life, Stevens made a determined plea to any divine drive, promising to dedicate his life to faith if spared.
Stevens’ prayers have been answered, and he emerged from the perilous ocean unscathed. This affecting expertise led the artist to embrace a newfound perception in a faith. However, the query remained: which faith ought to Stevens select to fulfil his pledge? After years of soul-searching and non secular exploration, Stevens discovered an agreeable footing with Islam, partly influenced by a replica of the Quran his brother as soon as gifted him. In 1977, the singer-songwriter determined boldly to step away from his music profession and embark on a journey of non secular devotion.
Although Stevens’ conversion to Islam was met with controversy amongst many followers, it was a deeply private and introspective resolution. Even earlier than the near-death expertise, Stevens had grappled with inside conflicts and a quest for non secular reality, as heard all through a lot of his musical catalogue.
Notably, Stevens wrote the favored Tea for the Tillerman lower ‘Wild World’ to look at his inside conflicts. In 1969, Stevens confronted his first brush with mortality when he fell sick with tuberculosis. The sickness compelled the 18-year-old musician to step again from his musical commitments for a number of months. ‘Wild World’ was one of many first songs he penned upon his return.
“I was trying to relate to my life,” he stated of the music on The Chris Isaak Hour in 2009. “I was at the point where it was beginning to happen, and I was myself going into the world.”
“I’d done my career before, and I was sort of warning myself to be careful this time around because it was happening,” Stevens added. “It was not me writing about somebody specific, although other people may have informed the song, but it was more about me. It’s talking about losing touch with home and reality – home especially.”
Listen to Cat Stevens’ ‘Wild World’ under.
