The Guru, the Mountain, the (Wo)Man and his Music

Lisnaholic · 06-20-2021, 09:14 AM

...by which I mean musicians who have figuratively climbed the mountain, met the guru and then come back to planet earth to spread the word.

What kind of faith-inspired songs have they written?
Did their music change, pre- and post- revelation?
A bit of info to put a song in context would be interesting too.

Here's the guy I first thought of:
Cat Stevens
After a pop debut, he was very successful in the early '70s with songs like:-

Quote:

In December 1977, after a near-death experience, Stevens converted to Islam and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all of his guitars for charity, and left his musical career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community.

His next recordings were spoken-word devotional albums; prayers and stories that showed just how transformative his involvement with traditional Islam had become. This is a song from a spoken-word album he made in order to teach his daughter about the Islamic faith. Impossible to fault Yusef's long-term, hard-core sincerity, given the years he has spent as the headmaster of an Islamic school in London.

______________________________________________

How about other musicians?
I put this in the rock thread because, let's face it, if you're not a pop/rock legend, who cares about your religious beliefs?

Plankton · 06-21-2021, 12:45 PM

George Harrison instantly comes to mind, but also someone who people might not think of is Eric Johnson. I say Eric because I know someone who went to the Himalaya's for a vacation and actually met Eric while he was there. He said he was there for 'spiritual fulfillment' or something along those lines and that he was doing some type of meditation. This was right before he released Venus Isle, which to me is one of his best works and really underscores his work on Ah Via Musicom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSDCxfzE8c

**Marie Monday** · 06-21-2021, 02:09 PM

I have no example to add I think, but this is fascinating. I had no idea about Cat Stevens converting to Islam

rostasi · 06-21-2021, 02:37 PM

Does this kind of conversion take in people like Madonna and Michael Jackson, for instance?

Lisnaholic · 06-21-2021, 06:43 PM

That's a really smooth, blissed-out track from Eric Johnson, Plankton. Thanks.
I had no idea he had been on aspiritual quest, and it seems, quite literally climbed a mountain to do it

I wonder how devotional the song is? As always with EJ, I'm so focused on his guitar licks, his words roll off my mind like water off a duck's back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

Does this kind of conversion take in people like Madonna and Michael Jackson, for instance?

Yes, of course, rostasi! After a slow start, anyone can post anything in this thread, as far as I'm concerned!

rostasi · 06-21-2021, 08:18 PM

OK, just wondering ‘cause there’s a whole lot of folks like them who changed their belief systems.

adidasss · 06-21-2021, 08:36 PM

Not strictly on topic, but the other day I found out that Sinead O'Connor converted to Islam recently. Which blew my mind because she is the last person on the planet I would think could convert to a religion even more conservative and patriarchal than Catholicism which she fought so hard against all her life. Her name is now Shuhada Sadaqat and she wears a hijab. Bizarre. Not sure if she made any songs about it yet.

TheBig3 · 06-21-2021, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidasss

Not strictly on topic, but the other day I found out that Sinead O'Connor converted to Islam recently. Which blew my mind because she is the last person on the planet I would think could convert to a religion even more conservative and patriarchal than Catholicism which she fought so hard against all her life. Her name is now Shuhada Sadaqat and she wears a hijab. Bizarre. Not sure if she made any songs about it yet.

Christ I hate liberals. How can you hate the Pope and think Islam is the right choice?

adidasss · 06-21-2021, 10:42 PM

Yeah I think she has a lot of mental health issues so...:/

Psy-Fi · 06-22-2021, 06:16 AM

Father Yod

06-21-2021, 12:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	George Harrison instantly comes to mind, but also someone who people might not think of is Eric Johnson. I say Eric because I know someone who went to the Himalaya's for a vacation and actually met Eric while he was there. He said he was there for 'spiritual fulfillment' or something along those lines and that he was doing some type of meditation. This was right before he released Venus Isle, which to me is one of his best works and really underscores his work on Ah Via Musicom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSDCxfzE8c __________________ See location...

06-21-2021, 08:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,993	Not strictly on topic, but the other day I found out that Sinead O'Connor converted to Islam recently. Which blew my mind because she is the last person on the planet I would think could convert to a religion even more conservative and patriarchal than Catholicism which she fought so hard against all her life. Her name is now Shuhada Sadaqat and she wears a hijab. Bizarre. Not sure if she made any songs about it yet. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

06-21-2021, 10:42 PM	#9 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,993	Yeah I think she has a lot of mental health issues so...:/ __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

06-21-2021, 02:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
rostasi . Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4,007	Does this kind of conversion take in people like Madonna and Michael Jackson, for instance?

06-21-2021, 08:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
rostasi . Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4,007	OK, just wondering ‘cause there’s a whole lot of folks like them who changed their belief systems.