This is Jane Pauley.

Kat Stevens was a phenomenon back in the 1960s and 70s.

Then he converted to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and vanished from the music scene for nearly three decades.

Now he's looking back on his musical and spiritual journey in a new memoir, and he's talking with Sunday morning Seth Dohn.

Why did you want to write this memoir?

I wanted to get the story straight, you know, and I wanted to explain a lot of things in between the lines that were never, never revealed.

And, you know, looking at the way in which you're perceived, you have to admit, I've been misunderstood. Even when I wrote foreigner, I

started with the words, there are no words I can use because the meaning still leaves for you to

choose. I mean, I already felt that I was being misunderstood. And so the artist to try and explain

himself has got to work a bit harder. When we watched you performing that I was being misunderstood. And so the artist to try and explain himself

has got to work a bit harder.

When we watched you performing at Hyde Park,

I got to sit right up front,

and there were all these people dancing around us.

We saw a mother and her daughter,

and they were exuberant watching you.

How is that to be on the receiving end of

of that kind of affection? Well, I feel it, but obviously what I'm giving out is what they're

receiving. I'm quite honestly trying to be myself. It's not that easy when you've got spotlight. I always

try to be honest and give what I have, you know, especially, you know, from my heart and

my music says it all. I'm feeling that I'm kind of helping people try to avoid some of the

mistakes that I've made and everybody

...