Tea for the Tillerman

I've only told this story several dozen times so excuse if you heard it before .....

If memory serves, it was an evening in 1972. The phone on the wall rang. It was a friend. He told me to listen. After a minute, perhaps less, I needed to know what I was listening to. It was the song, 'But I Might Die Tonight' from Cat Steven's, 'Tea for the Tillerman' album. It was the first I had heard of him. I was at the record store the next day looking for the album.

The vinyl I own today is my second or third copy. I wore out the original purchase from frequent listening during the 1970's and 80's.

Whenever it's said that '"They don't write songs like that anymore' .... this would be one of the first records I'd point to as evidence. Every song is a gem. Singing along, doesn't require a lyric sheet and playing it, these days produces flashbacks to much younger times. Hearing these songs today, it never feels dated or stuck in a particular era. Refusing to age, it feels as vital as the first time.

Ask of me the impossible task of listing my ten favorite albums and 'Tea for the Tillerman' will likely be among the first three or four that come to mind.

I'm listening tonight because that old friend has been on my mind. I read yesterday that his wife, who was a classmate of ours from grade one through high school, just lost her younger brother.