The artist Dolly Parton and Carly Simon both agree is a genius: “Still my favourite album ever”
Most people hate their birthdays.
You’re either overcome with the dreaded birthday cry at the confused hours of around three or four o’clock, when the world’s relentless spinning just feels like a fat slap in the face, or you succumb to the social pressure, bringing all of your friends together in one smorgasbord that is way more stress than it’s worth, soundtracked by some awful R&B music.
Birthdays are only really good for friends of the anniversary victim. Friends get to prove they remember the exact date, get to feel good about themselves with a heartfelt card, a bouquet from a local supermarket, and unwanted Christmas presents re-gifted in a new bow.
Excuse my pessimism: It’s true that for some, birthdays really are a chance to share your appreciation for somebody. Dolly Parton and Carly Simon jumped at this very opportunity when the 75th birthday of Yusuf/Cat Stevens came around in July 2023. Parton’s heartfelt message for the singer, who achieved great fame in the 1970s with folk-pop hits like ‘Wild World’ and ‘Peace Train’, explained her intense connection to his work: “I have loved Cat Stevens from the first time I heard his voice.”
Parton added, “I also thought he was the most beautiful and mysterious man I had ever seen. I loved how his music touched my very soul…and still does. Tea For The Tillerman is still my favourite album ever.” Of course, a lady of Parton’s stature has great sway in making her icons her friends. Yusuf/Cat Stevens ended up singing a duet with the country legend on ‘Where Do The Children Play’, a song Parton deemed “another one of my all-time favourites”.
She had already returned the favour, appearing on the song ‘Boots and Sands’ from his 2009 album, Roadsinger (To Warm You Through the Night). It was written after he was denied entry into the US in September 2004, after being placed on a government watch list. Reportedly, intelligence at the time suggested that he had links to organisations aiding terrorism; what better than America’s own beloved sweetheart, Parton, acting as a character witness on your work?
Parton isn’t alone in her adoration of the musician. Carly Simon, known for hits like ‘You’re So Vain’ and the 1977 Bond theme, ‘Nobody Does It Better’, also jumped at the chance to share her appreciation once that all-important birthday came around. And Simon took it a step further than Parton: “It’s not an exaggeration to say that if it wasn’t for Cat Stevens (as most of us knew his name as that), I would probably never have performed,” she said.
She also recounted hearing his voice for the first time on the radio in 1971, though she confessed that she “had such an unusual reaction to it,” as, unlike many other vocalists, Stevens was able to “stir my soul.”
Though a person’s reaction to a musician is entirely personal and subjective, both Simon and Parton have gushed over the same album: “‘Peace Train’, ‘Moonshadow’, ‘The Wind’, ‘If I Laugh’ and all the songs I recognised from Tea for the Tillerman were brilliant and of the same various emotional resonances each in their different way.”
Well said.
