Editing Cat Stevens (section)

===Musical career (1966–1978)===
====Early musical career====
[[File:Fanclub1966CatStevens2.jpg|thumb|Stevens on Dutch TV in 1966]]
Georgiou began performing his songs in London coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried to form a band, but realised he preferred performing solo.<ref name="Lifeline1963" /> Thinking his birth name might be difficult to remember, he chose the stage name Cat Stevens, partly because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals."<ref name="Salon.com">{{cite news|author=Reiter, Amy|url=http://www.salon.com/1999/08/14/cat_2/|title=Salon People: Cat Stevens|work=Salon|date=14 August 1999|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

In 1966, at age 18, he was heard by manager/producer [[Mike Hurst (producer)|Mike Hurst]], formerly of British vocal group [[the Springfields]]. Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and helped him get a record deal. Stevens's first singles were hits: "[[I Love My Dog]]" reached number 28 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]; and "[[Matthew and Son]]", the title song from his debut album, reached number 2 in the UK.<ref name="Biography">{{cite web|url=http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/biography/|title=Yusuf Islam: Biography|publisher=Yusuf Islam official website|access-date=23 September 2008|archive-date=14 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014070044/http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/biography/|url-status=dead}}</ref> "[[I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun]]" was his second UK top 10 single, reaching number 6, and the album ''[[Matthew and Son (album)|Matthew and Son]]'', released in March 1967, reached number 7 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="British">Roberts, David (2006). [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]. London: Guinness World Records Limited</ref>

Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with an eclectic group of artists ranging from [[Jimi Hendrix]] to [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]]. He was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the [[UK Singles Chart|British pop music charts]].<ref name="Lifeline1967">{{cite web|url=http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/lifeline/0/bdf531e09252cc4c73fc5d84c4138cb3/ | title=Yusuf Islam Lifeline:1967 |publisher=Yusuf Islam official website |access-date=15 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004210047/http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/lifeline/0/bdf531e09252cc4c73fc5d84c4138cb3/ |archive-date=4 October 2011 }}</ref> Some of that success was attributed to the [[pirate radio]] station [[Wonderful Radio London]], which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he was one of several recording artists who had benefited from the station to broadcast messages during its final hour to mourn its closure.<ref name="radiolondon">{{cite web|url=http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/bigl3.htm|title=The Radio London story – part six: Peel, Pepper and the final hour|work=Pirate Radio Hall of Fame|access-date=4 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="basic">{{cite web|url=http://basicmusic.net/musicians.php?aid=5025 |title=Cat Stevens |publisher=Basic Music |access-date=15 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329133442/http://basicmusic.net/musicians.php?aid=5025 |archive-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

His December 1967 album ''[[New Masters]]'' failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The album is now most notable for "[[The First Cut Is the Deepest]]", a song he sold for £30 ({{Inflation|UK|30|1967|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}) to [[P. P. Arnold]] and which became a massive hit for her and an international hit for [[Keith Hampshire]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[James Morrison (singer)|James Morrison]] and [[Sheryl Crow]].<ref name="Marrin">{{cite news |last=Marrin |first=Minette |date=26 September 2004 |title=Profile: Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens: Not so much a zealot more a lost musician |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article486773.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508055541/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article486773.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 May 2009 |access-date=22 July 2008 |work=The Sunday Times |location=London}}</ref> Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him back-to-back ASCAP "Songwriter of the Year" awards, in 2005 and 2006.<ref name="ASCAP Awards">{{cite web|url=http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/prs/2005/songwriter.html |title=Songwriter of the Year, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), ''First Cut Is The Deepest'' |publisher=ASCAP |access-date=24 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722084807/http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/prs/2005/songwriter.html |archive-date=22 July 2009  }}</ref><ref name="ASCAP2006">{{cite news|url=http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/prs/2006/winners.html|title=Songwriter of the Year|publisher=The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers|year=2006|access-date=20 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022041844/http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/prs/2006/winners.html|archive-date=22 October 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Tuberculosis====
Stevens contracted [[tuberculosis]] in 1969<ref name="Stereo Review"/><ref name="Disc">{{cite news|author=O'Driscoll, Michelle|work=Disc Magazine|date=29 July 1972|url=http://www.majicat.com/articles/disc72_cat.htm|title=Tea with the Tillerman|access-date=24 October 2008}}</ref> and was close to death at the time of his admission to the King Edward VII Hospital, [[Midhurst]], West Sussex.<ref name="Disc"/> He spent months recuperating in the hospital and a year of [[convalescence]]. During this time, Stevens began to question aspects of his life and spirituality. He later said, "To go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut."<ref name="Biography"/>

He took up meditation, [[yoga]], and [[metaphysics]],<ref name="AustralianConcert Programme">{{cite web|url=http://majicat.com/programs/ozprog.htm|title=Cat Stevens 1972 Concert Programme|last=Hely|first=Allan |year=1972|work=Festival Records PTY, Limited |publisher=The Paul Dainty Corporation (Australia) Pty.|access-date=23 January 2009}}</ref> read about other religions and became a vegetarian.<ref name="Salon.com"/> As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence<ref name="AustralianConcert Programme"/> and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs, many of which would appear on his albums in later years.<ref name="CBSSundaymorning"/>

====Changes in musical sound after illness====
The lack of success of Stevens' second album mirrored a difference of personal tastes in musical direction. He felt a growing resentment of producer Mike Hurst's attempts to re-create the style of his debut album, with heavy-handed orchestration and over-production,<ref name="Scoppa"/> rather than the [[folk rock]] sound Stevens was attempting to produce. He admits having purposely sabotaged his own contract with Hurst by making outlandishly expensive orchestral demands and threatening legal action, which achieved his goal: to be released from his contract with [[Deram Records]], a sub-label of [[Decca Records]].<ref name="Biography" />

On regaining his health at home after his release from the hospital, Stevens recorded some of his newly written songs on his tape recorder and played his changing sound for several new record executives. He hired an agent, Barry Krost, who arranged an audition with [[Chris Blackwell]] of [[Island Records]]. Blackwell offered him a "chance to record [his songs] whenever and with whomever he liked and, more importantly to Cat, however he liked".<ref name="AustralianConcert Programme"/> With Krost's recommendation, Stevens signed [[Paul Samwell-Smith]], previously the bassist of [[the Yardbirds]], as his new producer.<ref name="Forbes"/>

====Height of popularity====
[[File:Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens).jpg|thumb|Stevens performing in Böblingen, West Germany, in 1976]]
Samwell-Smith paired Stevens with guitarist [[Alun Davies (guitarist)|Alun Davies]], who was at that time working as a [[session musician]]. Davies was the more-experienced veteran of two albums that had already begun to explore the emerging genres of [[skiffle]] and folk rock music. Davies was also thought to be a perfect fit with Stevens, particularly for his "fingerwork" on the guitar, harmonising, and backing vocals. They originally met just to record ''[[Mona Bone Jakon]]'' in 1970,<ref name="Brown">{{cite news|date=5 February 1972|access-date=24 October 2008|publisher=Disc and Music Echo|url=http://majicat.com/alun/catman2.htm |title=Cat's Man}}</ref> but soon developed a friendship. Davies, like Stevens, was a perfectionist,<ref name="Taff1">{{cite web|url=http://majicat.com/alun/taffattop.htm|title=Taff at the Top|last=Fox-Cumming |first=Ray |year=1972|publisher=Majicat.com|access-date=12 September 2009}}</ref> appearing at all sound checks to be sure that all the equipment and sound were prepared for each concert.<ref name="Majicat">{{cite web|url=http://majicat.com/alun.htm |title=Alun Davies' Main Page|access-date=24 October 2008}}</ref>

The first single released from ''Mona Bone Jakon'' was "[[Lady D'Arbanville]]", which Stevens wrote about his young American girlfriend [[Patti D'Arbanville]]. The record had a [[madrigal]] sound, unlike most music played on pop radio, with [[djembe]]s and bass in addition to Stevens' and Davies' guitars. It reached number eight in the UK<ref name="British"/> and was the first of his hits to get real airplay in the US.<ref name="Biography" /> The single sold over one million copies and earned him a [[music recording sales certification|gold record]] in 1971.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/286 286]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/286
}}</ref> Other songs written for D'Arbanville included "Maybe You're Right" and "Just Another Night".<ref name="PattiSongs">{{cite book|last1=DesBarres|first1=Pamela|last2=D'Arbanville|first2=Patti|title=Let's Spend the Night Together|editor=Helter Skelter Publishing|publisher=Chicago Review Press|date=1 September 2008|page=54|isbn=978-1-55652-789-0}}</ref> "Pop Star", a song about his experience as a teen star, and "Katmandu", with [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] frontman [[Peter Gabriel]] playing flute, were also featured. ''Mona Bone Jakon'' was an early example of the solo singer-songwriter album format that was becoming popular for other artists as well. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine compared its popularity with that of [[Elton John]]'s ''[[Tumbleweed Connection]]'', saying it was played "across the board, across radio formats".<ref name="RS471">{{cite magazine|url=http://majicat.com/articles/RS471.htm|title=Cat Stevens Out of a Bag|last=Fong-Torres |first=Ben|date=1 April 1971|via=majicat.com|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=1 March 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Cat Stevens (1972).png|thumb|Stevens in 1971, as pictured in the cover artwork for his album ''Teaser and the Firecat'']]
''Mona Bone Jakon'' was the precursor of Stevens' international breakthrough album, ''[[Tea for the Tillerman]]'', which became a Top 10 ''Billboard'' hit. Within six months of its release, it had sold over 500,000 copies, attaining gold record status in the United Kingdom and the United States. The combination of Stevens' new folk rock style and accessible lyrics, which spoke of everyday situations and problems, mixed with the beginning of spiritual questions about life, remained in his music from then on. The album features the Top 20 single "[[Wild World (song)|Wild World]]"; a parting song after D'Arbanville moved on. "Wild World" has been credited as the song that gave ''Tea for the Tillerman'' 'enough kick' to get it played on FM radio. The head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, was quoted as calling it "the best album we've ever released".<ref name="Scoppa"/> Other album tracks include "Hard-Headed Woman", and "[[Father and Son (song)|Father and Son]]" – sung by Stevens in baritone and tenor, portraying the struggle between fathers and sons who contrast their personal choices in life. In 2001, this album was certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record, having sold three million copies in the United States at that time.<ref name="riaa">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com |title=RIAA Platinum Ranking|access-date=11 February 2009}}</ref> It is ranked at No. 206 in the 2003 list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]".<ref name="RS500">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/catstevens/articles/story/6598898/206_tea_for_the_tillerman|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|date=3 November 2003|access-date=24 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226144757/http://www.rollingstone.com/news|archive-date=26 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After his relationship with D'Arbanville ended, Stevens noted the effect it had on his writing, saying, "Everything I wrote while I was away was in a transitional period and reflects that. Like Patti. A year ago we split; I had been with her for two years. What I write about Patti and my family... when I sing the songs now, I learn strange things. I learn the meanings of my songs late ..."<ref name="RS500" />

[[File:Cat Stevens 1974 Moon and Stars.jpg|thumb|Stevens performing in [[Waikiki Shell]], [[Oahu, Hawaii]], 1974. The stage decor reflects his song "Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head" from ''[[Catch Bull at Four]]''.]]
Having established a signature sound, Stevens enjoyed a string of successes in the following years. 1971's ''[[Teaser and the Firecat]]'' album reached number two and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release in the United States. It yielded several hits, including "[[Peace Train]]", "[[Morning Has Broken#Cat Stevens recording|Morning Has Broken]]", and "[[Moonshadow (song)|Moonshadow]]". The album was also certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record in 2001, with over three million sold in the United States through that time. When interviewed on a Boston radio station, Stevens said about ''Teaser and the Firecat'':

<blockquote>I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want&nbsp;...'Moonshadow'? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there&nbsp;... right on the rocks where the waves were, like, blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs.<ref name="Crouse">{{cite magazine|author=Crouse, Timothy|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=9 December 1971|access-date=24 October 2008|url=http://www.superseventies.com/spstevenscat1.html|title=Cat Stevens on ''Teaser and the Firecat''}}</ref></blockquote>

For seven months, in 1971 and 1972, Stevens was romantically linked to popular singer [[Carly Simon]], while both were being produced by Samwell-Smith. During that time, they each wrote songs for, and about, one another. Simon wrote and recorded at least two Top 50 songs, "Legend in Your Own Time" and "[[Anticipation (song)|Anticipation]]" about Stevens. He reciprocated with a song to her, written after their romance, titled "Sweet Scarlet".<ref name="Carly">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4771736|publisher=[[NPR]]| title=Carly Simon Sings American Classics, Again|author=Stamberg, Susan |date=28 July 2005|work=Morning Edition|access-date=11 February 2009}}</ref><ref name="Carly2">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/10/18/2009-10-18_carly_simon_revisits_her_hits_on_new_album_never_been_gone_and_spills_about_a_pa.html|title=Carly Simon revisits her hits on new album 'Never Been Gone' and spills about a past love|last=Farber|first=Jim|date=18 October 2009|work=New York Daily News|access-date=6 January 2010|archive-date=22 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022074528/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/10/18/2009-10-18_carly_simon_revisits_her_hits_on_new_album_never_been_gone_and_spills_about_a_pa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CatStevens songs">{{cite web |url=http://www.majicat.com/photos/Carly_Cat.htm |title=Cat Stevens & Carly Simon photo and lyrics|access-date=11 February 2009}}</ref>

His next album, ''[[Catch Bull at Four]]'', released in 1972, was his most rapidly successful album in the United States, reaching gold record status in 15 days and holding the number-one position for three weeks on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and [[List of number-one albums in Australia during the 1970s|fifteen weeks at number one]] in the Australian [[ARIA Charts]].<ref name="catchbillboard"/><ref name="catchaustralia"/>

====Film and television soundtracks====
In July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, "But I Might Die Tonight", for the [[Jerzy Skolimowski]] film ''[[Deep End (film)|Deep End]]''.<ref name="Lifeline1970">{{cite web|title=Yusuf Islam Lifeline:1970|url=http://www.yusufislam.com/lifeline/10/a45dd1dc1476115ceb7fa21a45cbcd0f/|publisher=Yusuf Islam official website|access-date=26 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707232120/http://www.yusufislam.com/lifeline/10/a45dd1dc1476115ceb7fa21a45cbcd0f/|archive-date=7 July 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> He contributed two songs to the 1971 film ''[[Harold and Maude]]'', but was annoyed when director [[Hal Ashby]] decided to use the original demos instead of allowing Stevens to finish them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/harold-and-maude-oral-history-flop-cult-classic-1235130303/|title='Harold and Maude' at 50: An Oral History of How a 'Harrowing' Flop Became a Beloved Cult Classic|first=Pat|last=Saperstein|website=Variety|date=10 December 2021|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref> The film used seven other Stevens songs as well but, perhaps because of the dispute, the soundtrack album was not released until 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cat-stevens-harold-and-maude-soundtrack-gets-50th-anniversary-reissue/|website=Pitchfork|title=Cat Stevens' Harold and Maude Soundtrack Gets 50th Anniversary Reissue|first=Matthew Ismael|last=Ruiz|date=7 December 2021|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref>

After his religious conversion in the late 1970s, Stevens stopped granting permission for his songs to be used in films. However, almost 20 years later, in 1997, the film ''[[Rushmore (film)|Rushmore]]'' received his permission to use his songs "[[Here Comes My Baby (Cat Stevens song)|Here Comes My Baby]]" and "The Wind"; this showed a new willingness on his part to release music from his Western "pop star" days.<ref name="Durrani"/> In 2000, "[[Peace Train]]" was included in the movie ''[[Remember the Titans]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210945/soundtrack|title=Soundtrack for "Remember the Titans" |publisher=IMDb|year=2000|access-date=30 January 2009}}</ref> and ''[[Almost Famous]]'' used the song "The Wind".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/soundtrack|title=Soundtrack for ''Almost Famous''|publisher=IMDb| year=2002|access-date=30 January 2009}}</ref> In 2006 "Peace Train" featured in the soundtrack to ''[[We Are Marshall]]''.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=22 August 2009|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758794/soundtrack|title=Soundtracks for We Are Marshall|publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

====Later recordings====
[[File:WMMS Presents Cat Stevens - 1976 print ad.jpg|thumb|upright|Stevens poster advertising a concert from [[WMMS]] in 1976]]
Subsequent releases in the 1970s also did well on the charts and in ongoing sales, although they did not touch the success Stevens had from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Stevens moved to [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, as a [[tax exile]] from the United Kingdom; however, he later donated the money{{clarify|reason=What money, specifically, and how much?|date=April 2025}} to [[UNESCO]].<ref name="guardian.co.uk1">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/mar/29/usa.tsunami2004|title=Music is Part of God's Universe|last=Williamson |first=Nigel |date=29 March 2005 |series=Interview with Yusuf Islam|work=The Guardian |location=UK|access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> During that time he created the album ''[[Foreigner (Cat Stevens album)|Foreigner]]'', which was a departure from the music that had brought him to the height of his fame. It differed in several respects: it was entirely written by Stevens; he dropped his band; and, with the exception of some guitar on the title track and "100 I Dream",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Cat-Stevens-Foreigner/release/10109045|title=Cat Stevens – Foreigner|website=Discogs.com|date=25 July 1973 |access-date=28 October 2017}}</ref> he produced the record without the assistance of Samwell-Smith, who had played a large role in catapulting him to fame.

{{Listen
|pos=left
|filename=Cat Stevens - (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard.ogg
|title="(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" (1977)
|description=Sample of "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" from ''[[Izitso]]''. It was an early example of [[synthpop]] and his last top 40 hit single of the 1970s.
|filename2=Cat Stevens - Was Dog A Doughnut.ogg
|title2="Was Dog a Doughnut?" (1977)
|description2=Sample of "Was Dog a Doughnut?" from ''[[Izitso]]''. It was one of the first examples of [[Electro (music)|electro]], or [[techno|techno-pop]].
}}

In June 1974, while in Australia, Stevens was presented with a plaque representing the sale of forty gold records, the largest number ever presented to an artist in Australia.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-06-22.pdf|title=Cash Box Magazine|magazine=[[Cash Box magazine|Cash Box]]|via=World Radio History|page=48|date=22 June 1974|access-date= 15 November 2021}}</ref>

Stevens released the albums ''[[Buddha and the Chocolate Box]]'' in 1974, and [[Numbers (Cat Stevens album)|''Numbers'']] in 1975.

In April 1977, his ''[[Izitso]]'' album updated his pop rock and folk rock style with the extensive use of [[synthesizer|synthesisers]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann|first=William|title=Review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/izitso-r19012|work=Izitso|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref> giving it a more [[synthpop]] style.<ref name="discogs_izitso">{{cite web|title=Cat Stevens – Izitso|url=http://www.discogs.com/Cat-Stevens-Izitso/release/1119030|work=Island Records|year=1977 |publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref> "Was Dog a Doughnut", in particular, was an early [[techno|techno-pop]] fusion track and a precursor to the 1980s [[Electro (music)|electro]] music genre,<ref name="wire_1996">{{citation|title=A-Z of Electro|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|issue=145|date=March 1996|first=David|last=Toop|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/210/|access-date=29 May 2011}}</ref> making early use of a [[music sequencer]].<ref name="discogs_izitso2">{{cite web|title=Cat Stevens – Izitso|url=http://www.discogs.com/Cat-Stevens-Izitso/release/493125|work=A&M Records|year=1977 |publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref> ''Izitso'' included his last chart hit, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", an early synthpop song<ref name="discogs_izitso" /> that used a [[polyphonic synthesiser]]; it was a duet with fellow UK singer [[Elkie Brooks]].<ref name="discogs_izitso2" />

His final original album under the name Cat Stevens was ''[[Back to Earth (Cat Stevens album)|Back to Earth]]'', released in late 1978. It was also the first album produced by Samwell-Smith since the peak in Stevens' single album sales in the early 1970s. Several compilation albums were released before and after he stopped recording. After Stevens left Decca Records, they bundled his first two albums together as a set, hoping to ride the commercial tide of his early success; later his newer labels did the same, and Stevens also released compilations. The most successful of the compilation albums was the 1975 ''[[Greatest Hits (Cat Stevens album)|Greatest Hits]]'' which has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In May 2003, he received his first [[Platinum Europe Award]] from the [[IFPI]] for ''Remember Cat Stevens: The Ultimate Collection'', indicating over one million European sales.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat_month_20030605a.html|title=May 2003 – Platinum Europe Awards|date=6 June 2003|publisher=IFPI|access-date=11 February 2009|archive-date=11 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111033223/http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat_month_20030605a.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>