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83-699: The calf, bull, or ox is one of the earliest similes for meditation practice. It comes from the Maha Gopalaka Sutta ( Majjhima Nikaya 33). It is also used in the commentaries, especially the one on the Maha Satipatthana Sutta ( Digha Nikaya 22) and the Satipatthana Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 10). In Indian Buddhism the simile of the bull is compatible to the ancient traditional Chinese view within Cosmology that includes

166-417: A Rolling Stone magazine interview, he reaffirmed that, saying, "I had found the spiritual home I'd been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like "Peace Train" and "On The Road To Find Out", it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling." Stevens formally converted to Islam on 23 December 1977, taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. Yusuf

249-555: A Swedish mother, Ingrid Wickman (1915–1989). He has an older sister, Anita (b. 1937), and a brother, David Gordon. The family lived above the Moulin Rouge, a restaurant his parents operated on the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue , a short walk from Piccadilly Circus in the Soho theatre district of London. All family members worked in the restaurant. His parents divorced when he was about eight years old but continued to maintain

332-507: A madrigal sound, unlike most music played on pop radio, with djembes and bass in addition to Stevens' and Davies' guitars. It reached number eight in the UK and was the first of his hits to get real airplay in the US. The single sold over one million copies and earned him a gold record in 1971. Other songs written for D'Arbanville included "Maybe You're Right" and "Just Another Night". "Pop Star",

415-690: A "watch list" which provoked an international controversy and led the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations. Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, "I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right". Islam believed his inclusion on

498-567: A "watch list" may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 he requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the US authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to his statement, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Islam was not the suspected terrorism supporter. Romanisation of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings:

581-637: A Zen Buddhist interpretation of the ten Bodhisattva bhumi , the ten stages on the Bodhisattva -path. The pictures first became widely known in the West after their inclusion in the 1957 book, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings , by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki . Alan Watts included a description of the Ten Bulls in The Spirit of Zen . The pictures went on to influence

664-636: A cat, but mainly because "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals." In 1966, at age 18, he was heard by manager/producer Mike Hurst , formerly of British vocal group the Springfields . Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and helped him get a record deal. Stevens's first singles were hits: " I Love My Dog " reached number 28 on

747-588: A convert to Judaism , brought him a copy of the Qur'an as a birthday gift from a trip to Jerusalem . Stevens said on BBC's Desert Island Discs : "I would never have picked up the Qur'an myself as a free spirit; I was more aligned to my father's Greek Orthodox beliefs." His brother's timely gift was quickly absorbed and he was taken with its content, soon beginning his transition and conversion to Islam, which would change forever his private and professional life. During

830-525: A home in London while currently preferring to spend a major part of each year in Dubai . Following his conversion to Islam, he abandoned his musical career for nearly two decades. When he became a Muslim in 1977, the imam at his mosque told him that it was fine to continue as a musician, as long as the songs were morally acceptable. However, because others said that "it was all prohibited", he decided to avoid

913-532: A misleading way. In a 2007 letter to the editor of The Daily Telegraph , Rushdie complained of what he believed was Islam's attempts to "rewrite his past", and called his claims of innocence "rubbish". On 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie suffered a knife attack as he was about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York , United States. In response to

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996-609: A musical career. He began performing under the name "Steve Adams" in 1965 while at Hammersmith. At that point, his goal was to become a songwriter. As well as the Beatles, other musicians who influenced him were the Kinks , Bob Dylan , Nina Simone , blues artists Lead Belly and Muddy Waters , Biff Rose (particularly Rose's first album), Leo Kottke and Paul Simon . He also sought to emulate composers of musicals, such as Ira Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein . In 1965, he signed

1079-453: A painter. They subsequently returned to England. He attended other local West End schools, where he says he was constantly in trouble and did poorly in everything but art. He was called 'the artist boy' and said, "I was beat up, but I was noticed". He took a one-year course at Hammersmith School of Art , considering a career as a cartoonist. Though he enjoyed art (his later record albums featured his original artwork), he decided to pursue

1162-467: A publishing deal with Ardmore & Beechwood and recorded several demos, including " The First Cut Is the Deepest ". Georgiou began performing his songs in London coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried to form a band, but realised he preferred performing solo. Thinking his birth name might be difficult to remember, he chose the stage name Cat Stevens, partly because a girlfriend said he had eyes like

1245-404: A song about his experience as a teen star, and "Katmandu", with Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel playing flute, were also featured. Mona Bone Jakon was an early example of the solo singer-songwriter album format that was becoming popular for other artists as well. Rolling Stone magazine compared its popularity with that of Elton John 's Tumbleweed Connection , saying it was played "across

1328-587: A song to her, written after their romance, titled "Sweet Scarlet". His next album, Catch Bull at Four , released in 1972, was his most rapidly successful album in the United States, reaching gold record status in 15 days and holding the number-one position for three weeks on the Billboard 200 and fifteen weeks at number one in the Australian ARIA Charts . In July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, "But I Might Die Tonight", for

1411-483: A statement in the FAQ section of one of his websites, Islam asserted that while he regretted the comments, he was joking and that the show was improperly edited. In the years since these comments, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa. Appearing on BBC's Desert Island Discs on 27 September 2020, Yusaf claimed clever "sharp-toothed" journalists had framed his fatwa comment in

1494-405: A vegetarian. As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs, many of which would appear on his albums in later years. The lack of success of Stevens' second album mirrored a difference of personal tastes in musical direction. He felt a growing resentment of producer Mike Hurst's attempts to re-create

1577-426: A young age, eventually using the family baby grand piano to work out the chords, since no one else there played well enough to teach him. At 15, inspired by the popularity of the Beatles , he became interested in the guitar. He persuaded his father to pay £8 (equivalent to £200 in 2023 ) for his first guitar, and he began playing it and writing songs. He occasionally escaped his family responsibilities by going to

1660-667: Is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams. His musical style consists of folk, rock, pop, and, later in his career, Islamic music . Following two decades in which he performed only music which met strict religious standards, he returned to making secular music in 2006. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. He has received two honorary doctorates and awards for promoting peace as well as other humanitarian awards. His 1967 debut album and its title song " Matthew and Son " both reached top 10 in

1743-403: Is strictly a description of samatha practice, while the ten bulls depict the stages of awakening to the nature of mind (and as such, is not strictly about samatha only, but about the entire path of awakening). Majjhima Nikaya The Majjhima Nikāya ("Collection of Middle-length Discourses") is a Buddhist scripture collection , the second of the five Nikāyas , or collections, in

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1826-587: Is the Arabic rendition of the name Joseph; he stated that he "always loved the name Joseph" and was particularly drawn to the story of Joseph in the Qur'an . Although he discontinued his pop career, he was persuaded to perform one last time before what became his 25-year musical hiatus. Appearing with his hair freshly shorn and an untrimmed beard, he headlined a charity concert on 22 November 1979 in Wembley Stadium to benefit UNICEF 's International Year of

1909-463: The Balkans , Indonesia, and Iraq. He was chairman of the charity Muslim Aid from 1985 to 1993. In 1989, following an address by Islam to students at London's Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University ), where he was asked about the fatwa calling for the killing of Salman Rushdie , author of the novel The Satanic Verses , Islam made a series of comments that appeared to show support for

1992-799: The Islamia Primary School in Brondesbury Park, later moved to Salusbury Road, in the north London area of Queen's Park and, soon after, founded several Muslim secondary schools; in 1992, he set up The Association of Muslim Schools (AMS-UK), a charity that brought together all the Muslim schools in the UK. He is also the founder and chairman of the Small Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in

2075-467: The Jerzy Skolimowski film Deep End . He contributed two songs to the 1971 film Harold and Maude , but was annoyed when director Hal Ashby decided to use the original demos instead of allowing Stevens to finish them. The film used seven other Stevens songs as well but, perhaps because of the dispute, the soundtrack album was not released until 2007. After his religious conversion in

2158-861: The No Fly List . Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration , which then diverted his flight to Bangor , Maine, where he was detained by officers from the Department of Homeland Security . The following day, he was denied entry and flown back to the United Kingdom. A spokesman for Homeland Security claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities". The Israeli government had deported Islam in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to

2241-678: The Ox (niú 牛) as a birth year and quality, as a result this similarity helped with the early assimilation of Buddhism into Chinese culture and then on to the rest of East Asia. Buddhaghosa , in his commentary on the Satipatthana Suttas gives a simile of the taming of a wild calf. The calf is the wild mind which is to be tamed. The same idea was developed by the Chan/Zen tradition. The well-known ten ox-herding pictures emerged in China in

2324-626: The Palestinian organisation Hamas , but he denied doing so knowingly. Islam stated "I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas". "At the time I was reported to have done it, I didn't know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land." However, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added him to

2407-914: The Sutta Piṭaka , which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka (lit. "Three Baskets") of Theravada Buddhism . It was composed between 3rd century BCE and 2nd century CE. This nikaya consists of 152 discourses attributed to the Buddha and his chief disciples. The Majjhima Nikaya corresponds to the Madhyama Āgama found in the Sutra Piṭakas of various Sanskritic early Buddhist schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation. A complete Chinese translation from

2490-626: The UK Singles Chart ; and " Matthew and Son ", the title song from his debut album, reached number 2 in the UK. " I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun " was his second UK top 10 single, reaching number 6, and the album Matthew and Son , released in March 1967, reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart . Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with an eclectic group of artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Engelbert Humperdinck . He

2573-523: The "laughing Buddha", who is bodhisattva Maitreya . Liaoan Qingyu (了菴清欲, Jp. Ryōan Seiyoku) (1288-1363) made another version with five pictures. In Japan, Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version gained a wide circulation, and many variations of these illustrations were made, the earliest one probably belonging to the fifteenth century. The following illustrations include the verses by Kuòān Shīyuǎn translated by Senzaki Nyogen (千崎如幻) (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895-1990). The paintings below are traditionally attributed to

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2656-547: The 12th century. D.T. Suzuki mentions four Chinese versions of the Oxherding Pictures, by Ching-chu (Jp. Seikyo, c. 11th century), Tzu-te Hui (Jp. Jitoku, c. 1090-1159), an unknown author, and Kuòān Shīyuǎn (Jp. Kaku-an) (c. 12th century). The first series was probably made by Ching-chu in the 11th century, who may have been a contemporary of Kuòān Shīyuǎn. There are only five pictures in Ching-chu's version and

2739-656: The Cat Stevens name for the first time in 39 years. In September 2020, he released Tea for the Tillerman 2 , a reimagining of his album Tea for the Tillerman to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and in June 2023, King of a Land , a new studio album. Steven Demetre Georgiou, born on 21 July 1948 in the Marylebone area of London , was the youngest child of a Greek Cypriot father, Stavros Georgiou (1900–1978), and

2822-469: The Child . The concert closed with his performance along with David Essex , Alun Davies, and Islam's brother, David Gordon, who wrote the finale song "Child for a Day". After a brief engagement to Louise Wightman , Islam married Fauzia Mubarak Ali on 7 September 1979, at Regent's Park Mosque in London. They have one son, four daughters, and nine grandchildren; a second son died in infancy. They have

2905-556: The Japanese monk painter Tenshō Shūbun (天章周文) (1414-1463). The following set was drawn by the court calligrapher Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (1579–1638). The set includes ten waka (Japanese poems in thirty-one syllables) rendered in high Heian period Japanese calligraphic style. The ox-herding pictures had an immediate and extensive influence on the Chinese practice of Chan Buddhism . According to Chi Kwang Sunim , they may represent

2988-789: The Sarvāstivādin recension appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon , where it is known as the Zhōng Ahánjīng (中阿含經). The Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school contains 222 sūtras, in contrast to the 152 suttas in the Pāli Majjhima Nikāya. Bhikkhu Bodhi in the introduction to his translation describes the collection as follows: If the Majjhima Nikāya were to be characterised by a single phrase to distinguish it from among

3071-777: 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 went to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and spent weeks at the top of several other major charts. He earned ASCAP songwriting awards in 2005 and 2006 for " The First Cut Is the Deepest ", which has been a hit for four artists. His other hit songs include " Father and Son ", " Wild World ", " Moonshadow ", " Peace Train ", and " Morning Has Broken ". Stevens converted to Islam in December 1977, and adopted

3154-407: The United Kingdom. The album is now most notable for " The First Cut Is the Deepest ", a song he sold for £30 (equivalent to £700 in 2023 ) to P. P. Arnold and which became a massive hit for her and an international hit for Keith Hampshire , Rod Stewart , James Morrison and Sheryl Crow . Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him back-to-back ASCAP "Songwriter of

3237-420: The United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect

3320-464: The United States. It yielded several hits, including " Peace Train ", " Morning Has Broken ", and " Moonshadow ". The album was also certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record in 2001, with over three million sold in the United States through that time. When interviewed on a Boston radio station, Stevens said about Teaser and the Firecat : I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until

3403-851: The Year" awards, in 2005 and 2006. Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969 and was close to death at the time of his admission to the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst , West Sussex. He spent months recuperating in the hospital and a year of convalescence . During this time, Stevens began to question aspects of his life and spirituality. He later said, "To go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut." He took up meditation, yoga , and metaphysics , read about other religions and became

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3486-498: The album Foreigner , which was a departure from the music that had brought him to the height of his fame. It differed in several respects: it was entirely written by Stevens; he dropped his band; and, with the exception of some guitar on the title track and "100 I Dream", he produced the record without the assistance of Samwell-Smith, who had played a large role in catapulting him to fame. In June 1974, while in Australia, Stevens

3569-534: The album, the song Sitting refers to meditation, and the apprehensions that may result from the experiences resulting from enlightenment. Catch Bull at Four was commercially successful and spent 3 weeks at number one in the Billboard album charts in 1972. Leonard Cohen based his song 'Ballad of the Absent Mare', which appeared in his album Recent Songs published in 1979, on the Ten Bulls stories. In

3652-524: The attack, Yusuf tweeted, "Saddened and shocked to learn about the horrific act on Salman Rushdie my wish is for us all to live in peace. May God grant him and every one else who has suffered from the manic pandemic of violence in this world, a full recovery. Peace". Immediately following the September 11 attacks on the United States, he said: I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of

3735-462: The bassist of the Yardbirds , as his new producer. Samwell-Smith paired Stevens with guitarist Alun Davies , who was at that time working as a session musician . Davies was the more-experienced veteran of two albums that had already begun to explore the emerging genres of skiffle and folk rock music. Davies was also thought to be a perfect fit with Stevens, particularly for his "fingerwork" on

3818-583: The beginning of spiritual questions about life, remained in his music from then on. The album features the Top 20 single " Wild World "; a parting song after D'Arbanville moved on. "Wild World" has been credited as the song that gave Tea for the Tillerman 'enough kick' to get it played on FM radio. The head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, was quoted as calling it "the best album we've ever released". Other album tracks include "Hard-Headed Woman", and " Father and Son " – sung by Stevens in baritone and tenor, portraying

3901-456: The board, across radio formats". Mona Bone Jakon was the precursor of Stevens' international breakthrough album, Tea for the Tillerman , which became a Top 10 Billboard hit. Within six months of its release, it had sold over 500,000 copies, attaining gold record status in the United Kingdom and the United States. The combination of Stevens' new folk rock style and accessible lyrics, which spoke of everyday situations and problems, mixed with

3984-575: The compilation albums was the 1975 Greatest Hits which has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In May 2003, he received his first Platinum Europe Award from the IFPI for Remember Cat Stevens: The Ultimate Collection , indicating over one million European sales. While on holiday in Marrakesh , Stevens was intrigued by the sound of the adhān , the Islamic ritual call to prayer, which

4067-574: The family restaurant and live above it. Stevens has a half-brother, George Georgiou, born in Greece , presumably from his father's first marriage in Greece. Although his father was Greek Orthodox and his mother was a Baptist , Georgiou was sent to St Joseph Roman Catholic Primary School, Macklin Street, which was closer to his father's business on Drury Lane . Georgiou developed an interest in piano at

4150-535: The fatwa. He stated, "He (Rushdie) must be killed. The Qur'an makes it clear – if someone defames the prophet, then he must die." He released a statement the following day denying that he supported vigilantism and claiming that he had merely recounted the Islamic Sharia law punishment for blasphemy. Subsequently, he commented in a 1989 interview on Australian television that Rushdie should be killed and stated he would rather burn Rushdie instead of an effigy. In

4233-465: The feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment. He appeared on videotape on a VH1 pre-show for the October 2001 Concert for New York City , condemning the attacks and singing his song "Peace Train" for the first time in public in more than 20 years, as an a cappella version. He also donated a portion of his box-set royalties to

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4316-492: The fund for victims' families and the rest to orphans in underdeveloped countries. During the same year, he dedicated time and effort in joining the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism , an organisation that worked towards battling misconceptions and acts against others because of their religious beliefs or their racial identity (or both), after many Muslims reported a backlash against them due in part to

4399-421: The grief caused by the events in the United States on 11 September. On 21 September 2004, Islam was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington , travelling to a meeting with American entertainer Dolly Parton , who had recorded "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, his name was flagged as being on

4482-464: The guitar, harmonising, and backing vocals. They originally met just to record Mona Bone Jakon in 1970, but soon developed a friendship. Davies, like Stevens, was a perfectionist, appearing at all sound checks to be sure that all the equipment and sound were prepared for each concert. The first single released from Mona Bone Jakon was " Lady D'Arbanville ", which Stevens wrote about his young American girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville . The record had

4565-466: The hospital, Stevens recorded some of his newly written songs on his tape recorder and played his changing sound for several new record executives. He hired an agent, Barry Krost, who arranged an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Records . Blackwell offered him a "chance to record [his songs] whenever and with whomever he liked and, more importantly to Cat, however he liked". With Krost's recommendation, Stevens signed Paul Samwell-Smith , previously

4648-492: The job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road." Estimating in January 2007 that he was continuing to earn approximately US$ 1.5 million a year from his Cat Stevens music, he said he would use his accumulated wealth and ongoing earnings from his music career for philanthropic and educational causes in the Muslim community of London and elsewhere. In 1983, he founded

4731-427: The late 1970s, Stevens stopped granting permission for his songs to be used in films. However, almost 20 years later, in 1997, the film Rushmore received his permission to use his songs " Here Comes My Baby " and "The Wind"; this showed a new willingness on his part to release music from his Western "pop star" days. In 2000, " Peace Train " was included in the movie Remember the Titans , and Almost Famous used

4814-414: The liner notes to the album, Cohen thanks his Zen Master Roshi for inspiring one of the songs: "I owe my thanks to Joshu Sasaki upon whose exposition of an early Chinese text I based 'Ballad of the Absent Mare.'" In the 1989 South Korean film Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? , an ox escapes into the forest and one of the protagonists, a young boy, attempts to hunt it down through the bushes. During

4897-421: The mind (S. navākārā cittasthiti , Tib. sems gnas dgu ), leading to śamatha proper (the equivalent of "access concentration" in the Theravāda system), and from there to a state of meditative concentration called the first dhyāna (Pāli: jhāna ; Tib. bsam gtan ) which is often said to be a state of tranquillity or bliss. However, this Indo-Tibetan series of stages is not equivalent to the ten bulls, since it

4980-457: The name Yusuf Islam the following year. In 1979, he auctioned his guitars for charity, and left his musical career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community . He has since bought back at least one of the guitars he sold as a result of the efforts of his son, Yoriyos. Stevens was embroiled in a controversy regarding comments he made in 1989, about the fatwa placed on author Salman Rushdie in response to

5063-408: The opening scene of Apichatpong Weerasethakul 's 2010 film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives , a water buffalo stands tied to a tree before breaking loose and wandering into a forest. A similar series of meditative stages is depicted in the Nine Stages of Tranquility , used in the Mahamudra tradition, in which the mind is represented by an elephant and a monkey. This is based on

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5146-511: The other books of the Pali Canon, this might be done by describing it as the collection that combines the richest variety of contextual settings with the deepest and most comprehensive assortment of teachings. The 152 discourses come in three parts each with five divisions. All divisions save the penultimate contain 10 discourses. Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou ; 21 July 1948 ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens , Yusuf , and Yusuf / Cat Stevens ,

5229-460: The ox's colour changes from dark to white, representing the gradual development of the practitioner, ending in the disappearance of the practitioner. Tzu-te Hui (自得慧暉, Zide Huihui, Jp. Jitoku ki) (1090-1159) made a version with six pictures. The sixth one goes beyond the stage of absolute emptiness, where Ching-chu's version ends. Just like Ching-chu's version, the ox grows whiter along the way. A third version by an unknown author, with ten pictures,

5312-399: The oxherding pictures was drawn by the 12th century Chinese Rinzai Chán (Zen) master Kuòān Shīyuǎn (廓庵師遠, Jp. Kaku-an Shi-en), who also wrote accompanying poems and introductory words attached to the pictures. In Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version, there is no whitening process, and his series also doesn't end with mere emptiness, or absolute truth, but shows a return to the world, depicting Putai ,

5395-409: The publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses . He has explained the incident stating: "I was cleverly framed by certain questions. I never supported the fatwa." In 2006, he returned to pop music by releasing his first new studio album of new pop songs in 28 years, titled An Other Cup . With that release and subsequent ones, he dropped the surname "Islam" from the album cover art – using

5478-430: The question by ceasing to perform. He has said that there was "a combination of reasons, really", and that the continuing demands of the music business had been "becoming a chore, and not an inspiration anymore". In a 2004 interview on Larry King Live , he said "A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing. You come to a point where you have sung, more or less... your whole repertoire and you want to get down to

5561-502: The rooftop above their home and listening to the tunes of the musicals drifting from around the corner on Denmark Street , then the centre of the British music industry. Stevens said that West Side Story particularly affected him and gave him a "different view of life". With interests in both art and music, he and his mother moved to Gävle , Sweden, where he attended primary school (Solängsskolan) and started developing his drawing skills after being influenced by his uncle Hugo Wickman,

5644-423: The song "The Wind". In 2006 "Peace Train" featured in the soundtrack to We Are Marshall . Subsequent releases in the 1970s also did well on the charts and in ongoing sales, although they did not touch the success Stevens had from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Stevens moved to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, as a tax exile from the United Kingdom; however, he later donated the money to UNESCO . During that time he created

5727-424: 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

5810-457: The struggle between fathers and sons who contrast their personal choices in life. In 2001, this album was certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record, having sold three million copies in the United States at that time. It is ranked at No. 206 in the 2003 list of " Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ". After his relationship with D'Arbanville ended, Stevens noted the effect it had on his writing, saying, "Everything I wrote while I

5893-469: The style of his debut album, with heavy-handed orchestration and over-production, rather than the folk rock sound Stevens was attempting to produce. He admits having purposely sabotaged his own contract with Hurst by making outlandishly expensive orchestral demands and threatening legal action, which achieved his goal: to be released from his contract with Deram Records , a sub-label of Decca Records . On regaining his health at home after his release from

5976-582: The teachings of Asaṅga (4th CE), who delineating the nine mental abidings in his Abhidharmasamuccaya and the Śrāvakabhūmi chapter of his Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra It is also found in the Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra of Maitreyanātha , which shows considerable similarity in arrangement and content to the Bodhisattva-bhūmi-śāstra . In this scheme, śamatha practice is said to progress through nine "mental abidings" or Nine stages of training

6059-412: The time he was studying the Qur'an, Stevens began to identify more and more with the story of Joseph , a man bought and sold in the market place, which is how he said he had increasingly felt within the music business. Regarding his conversion, in his 2006 interview with Alan Yentob , he stated, "To some people, it may have seemed like an enormous jump, but for me, it was a gradual move to this." And, in

6142-674: The waves were, like, blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs. For seven months, in 1971 and 1972, Stevens was romantically linked to popular singer Carly Simon , while both were being produced by Samwell-Smith. During that time, they each wrote songs for, and about, one another. Simon wrote and recorded at least two Top 50 songs, "Legend in Your Own Time" and " Anticipation " about Stevens. He reciprocated with

6225-462: The words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want ...'Moonshadow'? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there ... right on the rocks where

6308-472: The work of John Cage , particularly in his emphasis on rhythmic silence, and on images of nothingness. The pictures, especially the last one ('In the Marketplace'), have provided a conceptual umbrella for those Buddhists seeking a greater engagement with the post-industrial global marketplace. Cat Stevens ' sixth studio album Catch Bull at Four is a reference to the 4th step towards enlightenment. On

6391-495: Was also the first album produced by Samwell-Smith since the peak in Stevens' single album sales in the early 1970s. Several compilation albums were released before and after he stopped recording. After Stevens left Decca Records, they bundled his first two albums together as a set, hoping to ride the commercial tide of his early success; later his newer labels did the same, and Stevens also released compilations. The most successful of

6474-485: Was an early techno-pop fusion track and a precursor to the 1980s electro music genre, making early use of a music sequencer . Izitso included his last chart hit, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", an early synthpop song that used a polyphonic synthesiser ; it was a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks . His final original album under the name Cat Stevens was Back to Earth , released in late 1978. It

6557-491: Was away was in a transitional period and reflects that. Like Patti. A year ago we split; I had been with her for two years. What I write about Patti and my family... when I sing the songs now, I learn strange things. I learn the meanings of my songs late ..." Having established a signature sound, Stevens enjoyed a string of successes in the following years. 1971's Teaser and the Firecat album reached number two and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release in

6640-519: Was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the British pop music charts . Some of that success was attributed to the pirate radio station Wonderful Radio London , which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he was one of several recording artists who had benefited from the station to broadcast messages during its final hour to mourn its closure. His December 1967 album New Masters failed to chart in

6723-638: Was explained to him as "music for God". Stevens said, "I thought, music for God? I'd never heard that before – I'd heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God!?" In 1976, Stevens nearly drowned off the coast of Malibu, California , and said he shouted, "Oh, God! If you save me I will work for you." He stated that, immediately afterwards, a wave appeared and carried him back to shore. This brush with death intensified his long-held quest for spiritual truth. He had looked into " Buddhism , Zen , I Ching , numerology , tarot cards , and astrology ". Stevens' brother David Gordon,

6806-489: Was presented with a plaque representing the sale of forty gold records, the largest number ever presented to an artist in Australia. Stevens released the albums Buddha and the Chocolate Box in 1974, and Numbers in 1975. In April 1977, his Izitso album updated his pop rock and folk rock style with the extensive use of synthesisers , giving it a more synthpop style. "Was Dog a Doughnut", in particular,

6889-438: Was the most popular in China. It derives from the Ching-chu and Tzu-te Hui series of pictures, and has a somewhat different series of pictures compared to Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version. The 1585 edition contains a preface by Chu-hung, and it has ten pictures, each of which is preceded by Pu-ming's poem, of whom Chu-hung provides no further information. In this version the ox's colour changes from dark to white. The most famous version of

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