Matthew and Son is the first album by English singer-songwriter, Cat Stevens. Stevens began writing songs during his early teenage years. His earliest influences included the sound of early British bands, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, influenced by popular American Rhythm and Blues music. At the same time, folk influences from artists like Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel left a strong mark on him, along with some of the musicals being performed so close to his childhood home in Soho, that often he could hear the songs drifting up through his room. Stevens' brother, David Gordon, attracted the attention of Mike Hurst, (formerly of the The Springfields) in hopes of finding a producer interested in his younger brother's music, and after a demo was recorded, a deal was struck between the two. The album was not released until 1967; however, recording began on July 10, 1966, with a few advance singles appearing around that time.
Although the album was not released until 1967, the first advance single, "I Love My Dog" was released in 1966. It was initially recorded only by Stevens' guitars, piano & vocals. However, Hurst encouraged Stevens to add a staccato, tympani–and–viola arrangement; something not done before on pop music songs. Bassist John Paul Jones makes his debut on the first singles two years before becoming a member of Led Zeppelin. The B-side of the first single, "Portobello Road", was written by Kim Fowley, who encouraged Stevens to write a melody for the song. The single initially reached #28 on the UK charts, followed by "Matthew and Son", the next single and title track, which soared to #2 on the charts there, propelling Stevens into a popular cleancut teenage crooner.
The Album was released in 1967, eventually reaching #7 in the UK. The album track "Here Comes My Baby", as covered by the The Tremeloes, was a smash hit, reaching #4, "I've Found A Love" was covered by British singer David Garrick failed to chart while Stevens' "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" reached #6.
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948 in London, England), commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.
His early 1970s record albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his 1972 album Catch Bull at Four sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone and was Billboard's number-one LP for three consecutive weeks. He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which has been a hit single for four different artists.
Stevens converted to Islam at the height of his fame, in December 1977, and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars away for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award, and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He now goes professionally by the single name Yusuf. His newest album, Roadsinger, was released on 5 May 2009.
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