Cat Stevens was a hugely successful folk rock singer of the late ’60s and ’70s, enjoying considerable success and acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.
In late 1969, his recording output changed significantly after he quit the producing services of former Springfields guitarist Mike Hurst and recruited ex-Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell Smith. The latter looked positively on the new folk-rock direction Stevens wanted to take, and with a new record deal signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records, Cat was able to embark on a fertile period of writing and recording.
Before this new direction crystallized, the likes of Peter Gabriel had played flute on Mona Bone Jakon, while Nicky Hopkins had also played keyboards on the same album, having contributed electric piano to The Beatles’ Revolution among other things. However, Samwell Smith was now pivotal in shaping Stevens’ new sound as he introduced him to new session players who would be instrumental in the making of his seminal Iceland albums.
Arguably Cat Stevens’ greatest session musician was a guitarist named Alun Davies, also known in the music industry as Daydo (this nickname is also the title of his first solo album in the mid-’70s). Davies was a prominent representative of the new folk-rock genre that was then emerging, and his finger-like guitar, compatible backing vocals and overall perfectionist approach suited Stevens exceptionally well, so much so that he appeared in all but two of Stevens’ albums before his retirement.
Stevens’ retirement from the music business in 1979 left Davies at a particularly low level, but their friendship was such that 27 years later, when Stevens reappeared as Yusuf, Davies was again at his side and made an invaluable contribution.
Other notable session players who participated in Cat Stevens’ output were: singer Linda Lewis, who had solo hits of her own in the ’70s; Herbie Flowers, perhaps better known as the bassist for rock/classical conglomerate Sky (and for his bass line on Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side); David Sanborn, a reasonably well-known saxophonist; Brenda Russell, who had a solo hit with her own song Piano In The Dark in the ’80s; Art Garfunkel, who sang on the Numbers album; Chick Corea, the renowned keyboardist who recently passed away (2021), a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and his own Return To Forever project, who featured on the Izitso album – and finally Elkie Brooks, who features prominently on the hit ‘Remember The Days” sang Vom Alten Schulhof.
