Cat Stevens

Majikat * Earth Tour 1976 (Eagle Vision)

Cat Stevens didn’t always get detained during air travel and then shipped back to his native London in the name of international security. In 1976, 18 months before abandoning international pop stardom for Islam, the former Steven Georgiou was instead filling arenas like the one at William & Mary with exuberant folk pop delivered in a tremulous, growling tenor. And hits: “Moonshadow,” “Tuesday’s Dead,” “Peace Train.” A new, 35-minute interview with Yusuf Islam, candid, charming, and vintage TV clips, testify to Stevens’ talent, not his being a terrorist.

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This article appears in December 24 • 2004.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.