And the Cat Came Back

Talent aside, it's unlikely that Islam—the London-born son of a Greek Cypriot father and Swedish mother—would have become a pinup, let alone an opening act, if the aspiring folk singer hadn't changed his name from Steven Demetre Georgiou to Cat Stevens in the mid-'60s. By 1966, he toured with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and recorded several hits in the U.K. before releasing his major breakthrough LP, 1970's "Tea for the Tillerman." For the next five years, the prolific songwriter would create some of the most moving, indelible and uplifting music of the era: "Peace Train." "Wild World." "Morning Has Broken." The bittersweet "Harold and Maude" soundtrack. Along the way, he searched for some higher purpose, and dabbled in Buddhism, numerology and astrology. Then in 1976, Stevens almost drowned off the coast of Malibu during a swim. He claimed it was then he made a deal with God: if spared, he'd devote his life to serving the Lord. He says that a wave rose up and swept him back to shore. Shortly thereafter Stevens's brother introduced him to the Qur'an and the singer converted to Islam, both in faith and name. "I just was so happy, I was floating," he says, his dark eyes gleaming. "But I got a bad response from the press, and I turned a little bitter. I wrote something called the 'Last Love Song,' which went, 'If you don't love me, then maybe I don't love you.' It was the last song on the last album I recorded in 1978. It was a response to treatment I was receiving in the media, headlines like CAT ON THE MAT—insulting, tongue-in-cheek stuff. We all had a lot of learning to do."

By the close of the decade, Islam donated all his guitars to charity and then turned his back on music. He also ceased watching television or listening to the radio. "I just stopped being influenced by worldly chaos and commercialism," he says. One marriage and five kids later, Islam became a philanthropist who raised money for various charities, including his own Small Kindness. He also began recording benefit songs for English-speaking Muslims in the form of children's music. A song about the Arabic alphabet in 2000 was his first real step back in, and it was a hit. "I can't believe no one ever thought of the title 'A Is for Allah'," says Islam. "I thought, this is a find." The song is now a staple in Muslim households across the Western world.

The warm acceptance of his new music made Islam question some of these more rigid Muslim ideals that he had adopted. He converted at a time when conservative strains of Islam were on the rise, and he says now that in his search for a Muslim identity, he perhaps misinterpreted the teachings of the Qur'an and pulled away from singing and songwriting too abruptly. "When you look at Baghdad in its golden age, there were musicians, poets, scientists—and there was law as well," he says. "There was a balance. It was all one fantastic civilization, and that got lost somewhere in the reprocessing of the religion."

So Islam (the man) stepped back in the studio and came out with "An Other Cup" in 2006. The singer's comeback album was well received from VH1 to Al-Jazeera, the only criticism being that wecouldn't hear enough of him. Even Islam admits his voice and guitar playing were often overpowered by too much instrumentation, and the songs may have been a bit "overworked." So "Roadsinger" sounds much more akin to a Cat Stevens LP: spontaneous (Islam says he recorded five songs in three days), confident, raw and earthy—a place where his songwriting and guitar work have room to breathe. Even the cover art is a throw back to the "Teaser and the Firecat" days. Designed by his son, it features a vintage VW van decorated with images from classic Cat Stevens album covers: the orange cat, the artful dodger and, of course, the moon. It's a career come full circle, even if that circle was interrupted for a while. "Pulling away from it all helped me to appreciate the art of music, and how it can be used positively, again," says Islam. "It gave me a whole sense of freshness. Maybe I'll leave it again one day, I don't know, but as far as I'm concerned I've come to a very balanced place in my life. I'm happy with what I'm doing. I have schools, I'm helping kids get an education, helping kids in poor countries. I don't think I could get a better deal. Except I want to do a musical."

Move over, "Les Mis," because Islam is going mainstream. "Moonshadow" has been his pet project for the past six years. The musical will incorporate Cat Stevens material, as well as new Islam songs, and it's scheduled to debut in London's West End by the close of this year. "It's set on a planet where there's perpetual night, and the moon is the only source of natural light," Islam says. "But there's this tenacious boy who dreams of a world where the sun shines, where there's natural order and beauty. The story is about his search to find that perfect world, with the help of the moon's shadow, of course." And with the help of a long-lost singer who, thankfully, has regained his place in the sun.

© 2009