CAFFE` LATTE` TOP 2000 TRACKS

#144 FATHER AND SON Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens summed up the generation gap with his moving "Father And Son" from his 1970 album 'Tea for the Tillerman'. He penned the track himself. It was produced by Paul Samwell-Smith. The track was issued as the LP's lead single and reached #18 in Australia.
He was born Steven Giorgiou in 1948 to Swedish and Greek parents living in London. His interest in music began at a young age and he was performing as Steve Adams by the mid-60s. The following year, he had adopted the name Cat Stevns and his 1st single was dropped. "I Love My Dog"  (which he wrote) cracked the British Top 40. Follow-up "Matthew And Son" fared far better, peaking at #2 there in 1967. 
The singer/ songwriter continued charting as his reputation for penning memorable songs grew. Not only was Stevens creating songs for himself, but other acts were charting with hits written by him, including the poignant "The First Cut is the Deepest", a hit for P.P. Arnold in 1967; which reached #1 when Rod Stewart covered it in 1977.
As the 1960s drew to an end, Stevens' chart run was in a downward direction. He took time out after contracting tuberculosis. The new decade saw Stevens sign with new label Island Records and he unleashed his 'Mona Bone Jakon' album. "Lady D'Arbanville" was lifted as a single off the LP and returned the singer to the British Top 10- his 1st in 3 years. 
'Tea for the Tillerman' followed, and this album consolidated Stevens as 1 of the key singer / songwriters of the time. Along with "Father And Son", that LP contained 'Wild World". The latter became his 1st US hit, peaking at #11. Next was 'Teaser and the Firecat' which spawned more hits, including "Moonshadow" , "Morning Has Broken" and "Peace Train". In 1972, his 'Catch Bull At Four' album reached #1 in the USA and Canada, while peaking at #2 in Britain.
The prolific songwriter continued crafting clever songs and issued other successful albums, including the hits "Oh Very Young", "Another Saturday Night" and "Banapple Gas". 1977 saw Stevens score his final major hit with "(Remember the Days of The) Old School Yard". 
That year, Stevens converted to Islam and adopted the name Yusef Islam. He issued 1 more album before retiring from pop music. He faded into obscurity before eventually re-emerging this century to promote re-packages of his albums. He even dropped a new album, 'An Other Cup', in 2006; 3 decades after his last studio LP. He returned to touring and, in 2012, produced "Moonshadow", a musical using songs from his catalogue, that had its world premiere in Melbourne, Australia.
 
This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
A new song from the Top 200 is added each day, while another 2 are also included from positions 1501-2000 daily. Check back here every 12 hours for an update of the 2000.