"Moonshadow" is a song written and performed by Cat Stevens (known since 1978 as Yusuf Islam), first released as a single in the UK in 1970 on the

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

label and in the US in 1971 on the A&M label. It also appears on Stevens' 1971 album '' Teaser and the Firecat''.

History

Stevens considers this his favourite of his old songs. When Yusuf appeared on ''

The Chris Isaak Hour ''The Chris Isaak Hour'' is a one-hour talk show that aired in 2009 on The Biography Channel, in which singer Chris Isaak interviews and plays alongside other musical artists such as Stevie Nicks and Glen Campbell. The channel currently airs re-ru ...

'' in 2009, he said of this song:

"I was on a holiday in Spain. I was a kid from the West End f London– bright lights, et cetera. I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before."

An animated short featuring the song was part of the '' Fantastic Animation Festival'' feature film released in 1977. The animation begins with a still frame of Teaser and his pet Firecat, pictured as they appear on the cover of the album bearing their names. The picture comes to life, and in the course of the animation, they find the fallen Moon, ride on it as it flies, and find a way to replace it in the sky. The beginning and ending story portions were written by Cat Stevens and narrated by

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

. The video also appears as a special feature on the Majikat Concert DVD. In May 2012 ''Moonshadow'', a new musical by Yusuf, featuring music from throughout his career, opened at the Princess Theatre in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. The show received mixed reviews and closed four weeks early. The song appears as "Moon Shadow" on both the UK and US labels of the single release.

Chart history

"Moonshadow" reached number 30 on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

chart and number 10 on the US Easy Listening chart.

Cover versions

* Appears on several Greatest Hits albums of

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

. * Recorded by Labelle for their 1972 album, also titled '' Moon Shadow''. * A version by ''Liz And the Kids'' reached #28 in the Canadian AC charts, July 29, 1972. * Recorded by

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy (Mandy Moore song), Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her de ...

on her 2003 cover album '' Coverage''. Moore has also been performing "Moonshadow" on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

family comedy-drama ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

'' since 2017.

References

External links

''Moonshadow''
YouTube video {{authority control Cat Stevens songs Labelle songs 1970 singles 1971 songs Songs written by Cat Stevens Song recordings produced by Paul Samwell-Smith Island Records singles A&M Records singles