Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Father and Son

About this episode

Yusuf / Cat Stevens discusses the creation and re-creation of his iconic song 'Father & Son' in this milestone 200th episode.

The legendary singer/songwriter Yusuf / Cat Stevens released his first album in 1967. He’s a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and his albums have sold millions. In 2020, he released Tea for the Tillerman² , a re-imagining of his hit 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman . In the song “Father & Son,” he sings a duet between the two title characters, doing both voices. But in the 2020 version, he approached this song in a kind of astonishing way—he recorded the part of the father, but for the part of the son, he used a live recording of himself from 1970, taken from a show he played at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. So the two parts are still both sung in his voice, but 50 years apart. In this episode, the 200th episode of Song Exploder, Yusuf / Cat Stevens tells the story of how he created, and then re-created “Father & Son.” For more, visit songexploder.net/yusuf-cat-stevens .

People in this episode

Host: Hrishikesh Hirway

Guest: Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Topics covered

• music
• songwriting
• duets
• re-imagining classics
• Yusuf / Cat Stevens
• Father & Son

Keywords

• Yusuf
• Cat Stevens
• Father & Son
• Tea for the Tillerman
• music history
• duet
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• live recording
• 1970
• 2020

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Books & works: Tea for the Tillerman², Tea for the Tillerman, Father & Son

Places: The Troubadour, Los Angeles

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