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. 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.
– Original text and gallery published in May 2019." 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. Tour our photo gallery of Wayne’s 25 greatest films, including some of the titles listed above, as well as “Red River” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949), “Rio Bravo” (1959) and more. He also competed in Best Picture for producing “The Alamo” (1960), which he directed and starred in. The latter, in which he played the drunken, one-eyed Texas Ranger Rooster Cogburn, won him his long-overdue prize, as well as a Golden Globe. It also kicked off a lucrative, decades-long partnership between the director and star, who would make over two dozen films together, including “The Quiet Man” (1952), “The Searchers” (1956) and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962).ĭespite being one of the top box office draws for most of his career, Wayne only received two Oscar nominations as Best Actor: one for “Sands of Iwo Jima” (1949), another for “True Grit” (1969). He shot to stardom with his role in John Ford‘s “Stagecoach” (1939), which brought new shades of nuance and artistry to the Cowboys and Indians genre. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.īorn in 1907 as Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne worked his way up from bit player to leading man, appearing in a number of poverty row, Z-grade westerns throughout the 1930s. Oscar winner John Wayne, better known as “The Duke” to his fans, starred in over 165 movies throughout his career, oftentimes playing the swaggering, macho hero of westerns and war epics.