Question 1

True or false: Cat Stevens converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1977.

Accepted Answer

True. He converted in 1977 after a near-drowning experience, adopting the name Yusuf Islam and leaving music for decades.

Question 2

True or false: Cat Stevens was banned from entering the United States in 2004 due to alleged terrorism ties.

Accepted Answer

False. He was denied entry in 2004 after his name appeared on a watchlist, but the US never imposed an official ban; the issue was resolved and he later entered the country.

Question 3

True or false: Cat Stevens was originally a drummer in a heavy metal band before his solo career.

Accepted Answer

False. He started as a folk singer-songwriter; no evidence of a heavy metal band exists in his early career.

Question 4

True or false: Cat Stevens wrote the song 'Wild World' for his then-girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville, who was a model.

Accepted Answer

True. The song was about their breakup; D'Arbanville was a young model and muse to many artists.

Question 5

True or false: Cat Stevens once turned down an invitation to perform at Woodstock because he had a cold.

Accepted Answer

False. Cat Stevens missed Woodstock because he was recovering from tuberculosis, a life-threatening illness he contracted in 1969, not a cold.

Question 6

True or false: Cat Stevens' hit 'Father and Son' was originally written for a musical about the Russian Revolution.

Accepted Answer

True. Cat Stevens wrote the song for a planned musical about the Russian Revolution based on a Tolstoy story, but the project was never produced.

Question 7

True or false: Cat Stevens performed at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony under his Muslim name.

Accepted Answer

False. He did not perform at the 2012 Olympics; he performed at the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize concert instead.

Question 8

True or false: Cat Stevens' album 'Tea for the Tillerman' was named after a character in a Lewis Carroll poem.

Accepted Answer

False. The title actually came from a line in a poem by British poet James Elroy Flecker, not Carroll.

Cat Stevens Trivia Questions