did cat stevens almost drown

What happened to Cat Stevens'music?

Several US stations stopped playing Cat Stevens records. Radio talk show host Tom Leykis of KFI-AM in Los Angeles called for a mass burning of Cat Stevens' records, later changed to a mass steamrolling.

How old is Cat Stevens now?

Cat Stevens was born Steven Demetre Georgiou; since 1978 he has been known as Yusuf Islam. He was born in London in July 1948. His father was a Greek Cypriot and his mother was Swedish, and they divorced when he was 8 years old.

Why did Cat Stevens change his name to Yusuf?

Decided to pursue religion after nearly drowning off the coast of Malibu, California. He converted to Islam after his brother took a trip to Jerusalem. Changed his name from Stephen Georgiou to Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam. Parents are Stavros Georgiou and Ingrid Wickman.

Did Cat Stevens convert to Islam?

Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. CAT STEVENS, now called Yusuf / Cat Stevens, has spoken about converting to Islam after a brush with death less than a decade after surviving tuberculosis. The singer started calling himself by the new name in 1978, shortly after converting to Islam, he recently told BBC’s Desert Island Discs.

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What disease did Cat Stevens have?

tuberculosisIn 1968 the heavy work load of touring, media commitments, and the perks of a pop-star lifestyle took its toll and Cat contracted a potentially fatal bout of tuberculosis which hospitalised him for several months. It was during this time that he began a significant process of inner reflection and meditation.

What happen to Cat Stevens?

While the younger Stevens – who now records under the name Yusuf – chose the first option, deeply questioning his fame and lifestyle before largely withdrawing from the world of pop music, at 71 he is settled: he lives in Dubai, where he continues to record music and coordinate a charitable initiative called Peace ...

Why was Cat Stevens Cancelled?

Cat Stevens has announced the cancellation of his 2020 tour, due to the threat posed by the Covid-19 virus.

Why was Cat Stevens deported?

Yusuf Islam, the former pop singer known as Cat Stevens, was deported from the United States yesterday after immigration officials said he was on a terrorism list.

Why is music forbidden in Islam?

it leads to "excessive involvement with entertainment", such as wasting time that ought to be spent on religion; if it "arouses one's passions, leads him towards sin, excites the animal instincts, and dulls spirituality"; if it is done "in conjunction with haram activities – for example, at a drinking party".

What means fatwa?

fatwa, in Islam, a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law given by a qualified legal scholar (known as a mufti). Fatwas are usually issued in response to questions from individuals or Islamic courts.

Why is Cat Stevens on no fly list?

In 2004, a Washington-bound United Airlines flight from London was diverted to Maine after officials discovered Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was on board. Islam was denied entry into the U.S. and made to return to the U.K.

Who wrote first cut is the deepest?

Cat StevensThe First Cut Is the Deepest / Lyricist

Is Cat Stevens rich?

Cat Stevens Net Worth: Cat Stevens is a British singer-songwriter and musician who has a net worth of $10 million. After converting to Islam, he started going by the name Yusuf.

Who plays Cat Stevens in human resources?

James IIIJames III as Cat Stevens, Barry's male Depression Kitty who is seen wearing headphones on his neck. Kayvan Novak as Arsalan, a Shame Wizard, and Asha's husband.

Why is Cat Stevens on no fly list?

In 2004, a Washington-bound United Airlines flight from London was diverted to Maine after officials discovered Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was on board. Islam was denied entry into the U.S. and made to return to the U.K.

Is Cat Stevens rich?

Cat Stevens Net Worth: Cat Stevens is a British singer-songwriter and musician who has a net worth of $10 million. After converting to Islam, he started going by the name Yusuf.

How old is Cat Stevens now?

74 years (July 21, 1948)Cat Stevens / Age

Who is Cat Stevens?

Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948 ), also known by his stage name Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in his career, Islamic music. He returned to making secular music in 2006. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

What is Cat Stevens' stage name?

In 2017, he released the album The Laughing Apple, now using the stage name Yusuf / Cat Stevens, using 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 classic album Tea for the Tillerman to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

What year did Stevens release Tea for the Tillerman?

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 spent weeks at the top of several major charts.

Why did Georgiou choose the name Cat Stevens?

Thinking his birth name might be difficult to remember, he chose the stage name Cat Stevens, in part because a girlfriend said he had eyes like 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."

Why did Cat Stevens leave the music business?

Following his conversion to Islam, Cat Stevens (now named Yusuf Islam), abandoned his musical career for nearly two decades. In 2007, he said that 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, but others were saying that "it was all prohibited", and he decided to avoid 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 the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."

What was Cat Stevens' first album?

Cat Stevens (1972) Mona Bone Jakon was the precursor for 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.

What was the name of the disease that Stevens contracted?

Tuberculosis . Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969 and was close to death at the time of his admittance 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.

Who is Cat Stevens?

Cat Stevens was born Steven Demetre Georgiou; since 1978 he has been known as Yusuf Islam. He was born in London in July 1948. His father was a Greek Cypriot and his mother was Swedish, and they divorced when he was 8 years old. By then, though, he had developed a love and affinity for playing the piano, sparking an interest in music ...

What is Cat Stevens famous for?

The same year, Jimmy Cliff had a hit with Stevens' song "Wild World." His albums "Tea for the Tillerman" (1970) and "Teaser and the Firecat" (1971) both went triple platinum. "Teaser and the Firecat" included the hits he is most famous for: "Peace Train," "Moonshadow" and "Morning Has Broken."

What is the award that Cat Stevens received?

He has received a number of humanitarian awards for his work with peace and education, including the World Award, the Mediterranean Peace Prize, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter for his effort to forge peace and understanding between the West and the Arab world. He released nearly a dozen albums as Cat Stevens and two as Yusuf Islam. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014.

When did Stevens convert to Islam?

Then, in 1977 Stevens converted to Islam, adopting the name Yusuf Islam the next year.

What did Cat Stevens do after a near death experience?

Then going by the stage name Cat Stevens, the singer turned to Islam following a near-death experience. (Photo: Jim McCrary/Redferns)

How old is Cat Stevens?

On Sunday, the 72-year old musician — born Steven Demetre Georgiou to a Swedish mother and Greek Cypriot father — appeared on the BBC 4 radio program Desert Islands Discs to discuss his ...

Did Stevens have a copy of the Quran?

Following the incident, Stevens — who had already explored Buddhism while battling tuberculosis as a teen — was given a copy of the Qur’an by his brother. “I would never have picked up a Quran,” he says. “But it became the gateway. After a year I could not hold myself back. I had to bow down.”.

Who is Cat Stevens?

For a while, at least, Cat Stevens, who sort of looked Jewish in a Greek kind of way, was one of us, and his songs, hippie-ish ant hems like “Father and Son,” “Peace Train,” “Wild World,” and “Moonshadow,” became our summer-camp liturgy.

What is Cat Stevens' real name?

It was then and there that I was let in on a shocking secret: Cat Stevens’s real name is Steven Katz, and he cleverly switched it around to sound more like an entertainer and to hide his Jewishness. Never mind, of course, that Cat Stevens was in fact Steven Demetre Georgiou, born two months after the establishment of the State ...

When I went to sleep away camp for the first time, the soundtrack of the summer was all Cat Stevens?

The Secret Jewish History of Cat Stevens. When I went off to sleep-away camp in 1972 for the first time, the soundtrack of the summer — especially for those like me, who arrived with guitar in hand — was all Cat Stevens, all the time. By 1972, Stevens had already achieved his greatest success with a stunning trio of albums released in ...

What is the song "The Wind" if not a paean to the soul?

And what was “The Wind” if not a paean to the soul, playing on the Hebrew word ruach, which means both “wind” and “soul”: “I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul. Where I’ll end up, well I think only God really knows.”. For the rest of the decade, Stevens’s music as well as his thematic concerns would meander.

Overview

Life and career

Awards

Selected discography

Books

See also

Further reading

External links

Road to Fame

Conversion to Islam

• After a near-death drowning experience, Stevens spent some time considering his values and priorities in life, getting in touch with his spirituality and raising questions within himself. Then, in 1977 Stevens converted to Islam, adopting the name Yusuf Islam the next year. After releasing his final album as Cat Stevens, Islam retired from making f...

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Awards and Honors

in His Own Words