Although now a devoted Muslim who performs new material and occasionally some of his 1970s popular music under the name Yusef Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens continues to remain the quintessential sensitive singer/songwriter to emerge out of the free loving decade.

Born Steven Demetre Georgiou, Cat Stevens was raised by a Swedish mother and Greek father in London. He attended the Hammersmith College, where his interest in rock and roll and folk music was first sparked, and began performing under the name Steve Adams in 1965. Former Springfields member Mike Hurst, who was working as a producer, heard the fledgling singer and helped him record the demo "I Love My Dog." Decca Records promptly signed him as Cat Stevens and he concurrently began garnering a reputation as a songwriter when the Tremeloes recorded the Stevens-penned "Here Comes My Baby," and later P.P. Arnold earned a spot on the charts for another Stevens song, "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (which has also been successfully covered by Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow.)

After releasing two moderately successful albums Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1968 and was subsequently hospitalized for three months. In 1970 Stevens signed with Island and changed his sound, producing more introspective material which was showcased on both his own work and songs penned for other artists like "Wild World," which scored a hit for Jimmy Cliff. Stevens later recorded the song himself and finally achieved stardom in the States as a pillar in the popular folk-rock trend of the day with artists like Carole King and James Taylor. Around this time Stevens issued popular singles "Moon Shadow" and "Peace Train," but by the mid-'70s the singer was showing dissatisfaction with his fame and began refusing interviews despite releasing successful albums like Foreigner and Buddha and the Chocolate Box.

In 1977 Stevens officially became a Muslim and changed his name to Yusuf Islam, despite releasing the 11th and final Cat Stevens album, Back to Earth, shortly afterward. Yusuf Islam entered into an arranged marriage, denouncing pop music while producing five children and founding a Muslin school just outside of London. Whether under the name Cat Stevens or Yusuf Muslim, the singer remains popular to this day for compilation albums and new releases.