Image: Simon Fernandez, CC BY 2.0
The Artist Formerly Known As Cat Stevens – now Yusuf – is marking what could have been George Harrison‘s 80th birthday (this Saturday) with a cover of The Beatles‘ Abbey Road nugget Here Comes The Sun. The appropriately sunny cover art was supplied by Yusuf’s eight year old granddaughter.
Yusuf has also inked a deal with Dark Horse Records, which is the boutique label founded by Harrison. In a media release, he talks about Harrison’s influence on his own music and spiritual journey; he recalled reading the Buddhist book The Secret Path in the late 60s, while he was in hospital fighting tuberculosis – about the same time that Harrison became interested in Eastern mysticism.
“While most of my generation were just into the music, I was a bit like George, where music became the key to something much higher,” Yusuf says. “Following the rages of the 60s, his consciousness was awakened, and George transcended to levels not many people ever get to experience. You can hear it in his lyrics, and see it in the way he lived and dealt with the material world — looking for a way out. George was one of the first to put on a charity concert for the poor, at the time millions of Bangladeshis were fleeing from conflict and becoming refugees. It was a brave thing to do, and against all establishment rules. I’m happy to sing one of his songs, especially as it represents the returning of light and hope to a seriously dark and broken world.”
Love, Dr. Scott James
