It became her twenty-ninth and final single on the Pye Records label, which had given her a highly successful string of hits in the 1960s, making her the most successful British female singer of that decade. Sandie Shaw version "Father and Son"Ī version of the song was released in 1972 sung by Sandie Shaw. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. The animated music video of "Father and Son" also pays homage to the original release by featuring video clips from the 1970 music video released 50 years earlier. This version, which appears on Tea for the Tillerman 2, features the original recording of Stevens' vocals (at the age of 22) alongside the present-day voice of Stevens (age 72). In 2020, Stevens released a re-recorded version of "Father and Son". The performance was presented in a video with two close camera shots of his wife and daughter, holding his infant grandchild. "But how could I have sung the father's side if I couldn't have understood it, too? I was listening to that song recently and I heard one line and realized that that was my father's father's father's father's father's father's father's father speaking." īy 2007, Stevens (then known as Yusuf Islam) recorded the song again in "Yusuf's Cafe Sessions" of 2007 on DVD again with Alun Davies, and a small band playing acoustic instruments. "Some people think that I was taking the son's side," its composer explained. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Stevens has said he is aware that "Father and Son" and several other songs mean a great deal to a large number of fans. 'Father And Son' is for those people who can't break loose." Responding to the interviewer from Disc, he said, "I've never really understood my father, but he always let me do whatever I wanted-he let me go. Interviewed soon after the release of "Father and Son", Stevens was asked if the song was autobiographical.
In 1970 it was only put on the B-side of Stevens' single " Moon Shadow" (Island Records).
"Father and Son" received substantial airplay on progressive rock and album-oriented rock radio formats, and played a key role in establishing Stevens as a new voice worthy of attention. After a year-long period of convalescence in the hospital and a collapsed lung, the project was shelved, but "Father and Son" remained, now in a broader context that reflected not just the societal conflict of Stevens' time, but also captured the impulses of older and younger generations in general. He was close to death at the time of his admittance to the King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex. The musical project faded away when Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969.
Problems playing this file? See media help.Ĭat Stevens originally wrote "Father and Son" as part of a proposed musical project starring Nigel Hawthorne, called Revolussia, that was set during the Russian Revolution, and could also have become a film the song was about a boy who wanted to join the revolution against the wishes of his conservative farmer father. See files for discussion to help reach a consensus on what to do. The above file's purpose is being discussed and/or is being considered for deletion. Sample of "Father and Son", performed by Cat Stevens. Additionally, there are backing vocals provided by Stevens' guitarist and friend Alun Davies beginning mid-song, singing an unusual chorus of simple refrains. Stevens sings in a deeper register for the father's lines, while using a higher one for those of the son. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny. " Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf/Cat Stevens) on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman.