Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Yusuf Islam: From Cat Stevens to 'An Other Cup'

Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, recently returned to the world of popular music with An Other Cup, his first secular studio album in 28 years. The disc contains old songs that were never recorded, songs he wrote in the last couple of years, and songs that he came up with on the spot, once he reached the studio.

Cat Stevens ranked among the top singer-songwriters of the '70s, with sensitive and optimistic music on albums like Tea for the Tillerman and songs like "Peace Train" and "Moonshadow." Affected by a near-death experience in the late '70s, Stevens became a Muslim and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He didn't touch a guitar for many years, until two years ago, when his son brought a guitar into the house. After picking it up in the middle of the night and discovering that he could still play, he felt the spirituality in his playing that he said had been missing from his music back in 1978. This week, Yusuf Islam was awarded the Mediterranean Prize for Peace, as he continues to re-enter the spotlight as a musician.

This segment originally aired on Jan. 5, 2007.

Copyright 2007 XPN

Tags
David Dye is a longtime Philadelphia radio personality whose music enthusiasm has captivated listeners of World Cafe® since 1991. World Cafe is produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.
More Stories