Tea for the Tillerman

chronology
Tea for the Tillerman
Studio album by Cat Stevens (now Yusuf)
Publication ; (s)	1970
Label (s)	Island Records
Format (s)	LP, CD
Genre (s)	Folk rock
Title (number)	11
running time	36 min 40 sec
occupation	Vocals, guitar, keyboard: Cat Stevens; Guitar: Alun Davies; Bass: John Ryan; Drums: Harvey Burns; Violin: John Rostein; Arrangement: Del Newman;
production	Paul Samwell-Smith
Studio (s)	Morgan Studios, London

Tea for the Tillerman is the fourth studio album by folk rock singer and songwriter Cat Stevens . It was released on November 23, 1970 and reached number 20 in the UK, number 8 in the US and number 43 in the German charts.

Songs and re-releases

The most famous songs on the album are Wild World , Sad Lisa and Father and Son , which were covered by artists such as Boyzone , Ronan Keating and Mr. Big . Four other songs from the album were used as the soundtrack for the film Harold and Maude .

The theme song Tea for the Tillerman was used as the title track in the satirical comedy series Extras in 2005 .

The song But I Might Die Tonight was written for the soundtrack of the British-German film Deep End by director Jerzy Skolimowski from 1970.

The album was re-released in 2000 in a version remastered by Ted Jensen. Another re-release as a double CD (Deluxe Edition) followed with written comments on the album by Yusuf, Alun Davies and Paul Samwell-Smith in 2008. The CD was remastered again and the bonus CD contains demo and live versions.

Sequel

The album is due to be released on September 18, 2020, around 50 years after the original was published, in a new version under the name Tea For The Tillermann² with the same titles in the same order, but with new arrangements.

Cover

The cover was drawn by Cat Stevens. The picture shows, among other things, a farmer ( tillerman ) who drinks from a cup. A similar cup can be found on the cover of his album An Other Cup , which he released in 2006 under the name "Yusuf".

Track list

LP / CD version

Where Do the Children Play? - 3:52
Hard Headed Woman - 3:47
Wild World - 3:20
Sad Lisa - 3:45
Miles from Nowhere - 3:37
But I Might Die Tonight - 1:53
Longer Boats - 3:12
Into White - 3:24
On the Road to Find Out - 5:08
Father and Son - 3:41
Tea for the Tillerman - 1:01

All songs were written by Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam).

Deluxe Edition (released 2008)

Second CD:

Wild World [Demo Version] - 3:14
Longer Boats [Live at the Troubadour] - 2:51 am
Into White [Live at the Troubadour] - 3:37
Miles from Nowhere [Demo Version] - 3:14
Hard Headed Woman [Live in Japan] - 3:57
Where Do the Children Play? [From the Majikat Earth Tour] - 3:20
Sad Lisa [Majikat Earth Tour] - 3:13
On the Road to Find Out [Live at KCET-TV] - 4:57
Father and Son [from Yusuf's Café] - 4:25
Wild World [from Yusuf's Café] - 3:03 am
Tea for the Tillerman [Live At The BBC] - 0:50

DVD: A Classic Concert - Tea for the Tillerman Live

Moonshadow
On the Road to Find Out
Where Do the Children Play?
Wild World
Miles from Nowhere
Longer Boats
Father and Son
Hard headed woman
Teaser and the Firecat (cartoon)

The live recordings took place on June 8, 1971 at the KCET Studios in Los Angeles (USA). The line-up was Cat Stevens (guitar and keyboards), Alun Davies (guitar) and Larry Steele (bass and congas). In August 2008 the studio concert was published on the Wienerworld label.

Awards

Tea for the Tillerman was listed at number 206 of the 500 best albums of all time by the music magazine Rolling Stone in 2003 and in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die in 2006 .

The album went gold in 1971 and triple platinum in 2001.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	platinum	70,000
Germany (BVMI)	platinum	500,000
France (SNEP)	gold	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
Austria (IFPI)	gold	25,000
United States (RIAA)	3 × platinum	3,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	100,000
All in all	4 × gold 5 × platinum	3,402,500