"Peace Train" by Yusuf/Cat Stevens (1971)
Dance song of the day - August 7, 2024
What were you doing in the summer of 1971?
We had a good two months off from school and I no longer went to summer camp. Too young to drive yet. So what?
Babysitting, bugging brothers, reading forbidden novels, and hanging out. Probably.
And listening to Cat Stevens and other cool cats on the turntable and the radio.
Song of the day
In the early seventies you couldn’t listen to the radio without hearing Cat Stevens.
His album Tea for the Tillerman in late 1970 reached #8 on the US Billboard 200 chart and went triple-platinum. This success was exceeded a year later by Teaser and the Firecat, which also went triple-platinum and hit #2 in the US and UK and #1 in Australia.
Teaser and the Firecat produced three hit singles — “Morning Has Broken” based on a Christian hymn and two Cat Stevens compositions, “Moonshadow” and “Peace Train.”
I remember the brouhaha when Cat converted to Islam in 1977 and left the music industry, the following year changing his name to Yusuf Islam. I suspect his conversion would have been a minor issue, but abandon a successful career in rock ’n’ roll? Are you mad? This was unspeakable blasphemy. People would sacrifice their first-born son, or at least their mom, for a career like that.
He returned to pop music in 2006 under the name Yusuf (later Yusuf/Cat Stevens), and has since released a steady stream of albums and resumed performing and touring. He has also reteamed with his former guitarist Alun Davies and with Paul Samwell-Smith, the Yardbirds founding member and bassist who produced Cat’s early 70s hit albums and was credited with making them a commercial success.
My favorite Cat Stevens song hands down is “Peace Train.” From the hand claps through the percussion elements to the backup singers and strings, not to mention the acoustic guitar work, it’s an absolutely brilliant arrangement. Listen closely and see what you think.
If you want to know more, check out this MOJO interview in which he reflects on his career and recounts in quite some detail the events that led up to his conversion and departure from the music industry.
If you want to hear more, check out this acoustic NPR Tiny Desk concert in 2014, which includes his heartrending song “Father and Son.”
Song credits
Songwriter - Cat Stevens
Producer - Paul Samwell-Smith
Musicians:
Cat Stevens – acoustic guitar, vocals, tambourine, percussion
Alun Davies – acoustic guitar, backing vocals, autoharp, handclaps
Larry Steele – bass
Gerry Conway – additional drums
Harvey Burns – drums and percussion
Jean Alain Roussel - Hammond organ
Del Newman – string arrangements
Seek out the Peace Train remake on Footsteps into the Light from 2006. I went down the Cat Steven’s rabbit hole 4-5 years ago. I’d forgotten how much I’d loved his music back then. Teaser and Tea were both rereleased with a lot of extra material.
Goodness, two in a row from our college-era soundtrack. I dated a woman whose favorite artist was Cat Stevens. My personal favorite was Moonshadow--I still feel it was his most profound song. Though he would convert to Islam, I always thought the idea conveyed in this song was distinctly Buddhist.
As for Three Dog Night, I kept my albums even long after they had been declared uncool! Would just add that 3DN's version of Shambala was actually a cover--the original release was a country version by BW Stevenson, who I think co-wrote it with Moore.
Fun columns, always stirring up old recollections!