Cat Stevens is 78 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 21 July 1948.
Quick facts
Date of birth21 July 1948
Age78
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceLondon, United Kingdom
Editor's Take:
Cat Stevens helped define the confessional singer-songwriter sound of the early 1970s. Songs such as "Father and Son" and "Wild World" still feel personal rather than fashionable. Walking away from pop in the late 1970s shaped his reputation as much as the music did. He later said the break may have been too sudden and too severe. His return in 2006 showed an artist revisiting his past on his own terms. The Hall of Fame honour of 2014 recognised that long, unusual arc.
Key Milestones
1967: Launched his recording career with Matthew and Son, a UK top-ten debut
1970: Broke through internationally with Tea for the Tillerman
1977: Converted to Islam and later left the music industry
2006: Returned to pop music with the album An Other Cup
2014: Honoured as an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens or Yusuf/Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams.
Marylebone, London was his birthplace; his father was Greek Cypriot, his mother was Swedish, and he was the youngest of the children, raised above the family restaurant.
Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat, released in 1970 and 1971, each went triple platinum in the US.
He converted to Islam in 1977, took the name Yusuf Islam, and came back to secular pop in 2006.
Career highlights
1967Debut album: Matthew and Son reached UK number seven
1970Tea for the Tillerman: Breakthrough album featuring Wild World
1972Catch Bull at Four: Reached number one on US Billboard 200
1977Converted to Islam: Entered Regent's Park Mosque in London
2006An Other Cup: First new pop album in 28 years
Did you know?He sold "The First Cut Is the Deepest" to P. P. Arnold for £30, yet it later won him two ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards.
