Yusuf, aka Cat Stevens, sets U.S. entry brouhaha to music

Yusuf Islam, known to millions of music fans in the 1970s as Cat Stevens before he converted to Islam, changed his name and walked away from pop music stardom, is working on the follow-up to his first secular album in 28 years, 2006’s “An Other Cup,” and I got a preview of a few of the new songs while he was in L.A. recently.

Among them is one tentatively titled “Boots 'N Sand,” a fairly lighthearted take on what certainly wasn’t a lighthearted incident, when Islam was refused entry to the U.S. in 2004 in the wake of heightened security worries after 9/11.

You may recall that he was stopped at the airport and then sent home to England—an incident that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity because his name was similar to one on the FBI's list of suspected terrorists. “They kept asking me to spell my name.”

He’d been on his way to Nashville to record the material that showed up as “An Other Cup.” “The musicians were actually waiting in the studio to start recording,” he said following a TV show taping in Hollywood this week.

In “Boots 'N Sand,” he whimsically recounts his arrival in the states and his exchange with law enforcement agents:

     As we reached the border
     Seven sheriffs arrived
     Me and my gal saddled outside

     Sheriffs: “Is your name this?”
     Him: “I guess it is.”
     Sheriffs: “You’re on our ‘no song’ list.”
     Him: “Oh no sir, no. This can’t be so!”

Now using just the name Yusuf professionally, the 60-year-old singer-songwriter smiled and recalled agents who were denying him entry to the country sheepishly asking at the same time for his autograph.

“It was like being in some bad B movie,” he said, “where you didn’t know the plot and didn’t know how it was going to turn out.” (He was a bit more agitated when he wrote an opinion piece for The Times about it a few days after it happened.)

Subsequently, he’s since returned to the States a number of times without incident. He’s joined in the studio on the lightly country-flavored tune by guests including Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton and Alison Krauss. It’ll be part of the new album that’s due next spring.

-- Randy Lewis   

Photo by Achmad Ibrahim/AP

Comments

[Omar A.]

I loved his last album, 2006's An Other Cup. It was a great return to the Cat Stevens of old, with added spiritual maturity and wisdom. I can't wait until the new album comes out! It's great to see Yusuf in the U.S. as well. I'm hoping we get to see him perform live once the new album comes out.