Cat Stevens was a really big deal back in the early ’70s. His albums Tea for the Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat, and Catch Bull at Four were on a lot of turntables back then, including mine. He released a large number of radio-friendly hits, including today’s classic song of the day, “Wild World.”
Included on his Tea for the Tillerman album (which also included the hit “Father and Son“), “Wild World” was released as a single in September of 1970. It climbed to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #18 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #21 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“Wild World” was inspired by Mr. Stevens’ relationship with actress Patti D’Arbanville. It chronicles the end of their romance, as Mr. Stevens relates:
“It was one of those chord sequences that’s very common in Spanish music. I turned it around and came up with that theme—which is a recurring theme in my work—which is to do with leaving, the sadness of leaving, and the anticipation of what lies beyond.”
Although Cat Stevens had previously scored a few minor hits in the UK, “Wild World” was his first big hit in the U.S. He went on to have several more, including “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Sitting,” “Oh Very Young,” and a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night.”
Cat Stevens converted to Islam in 1977 and subsequently changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He dropped out of the music business for 25 or so years before picking up his guitar again at the turn of the century. In 2017 he started using his old name again, touring as Yusuf/Cat Stevens. He’s still out there today, even if the U.S. government won’t issue him a visa to tour the States.
Now let’s go back to 1971 when Yusuf was still just Cat Stevens. It’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Mr. Stevens performing “Wild World” live. Good stuff.
