Which musician retired too soon?

Cat Stevens would be my choice. I always liked his music. I thought it was an incredibly brave thing for him to leave showbiz for a life in religion. He literally turned his back on countless millions for his faith. I admire him to this day for that. I'm not sure I would've had the spiritual conviction and sheer chutzpah to do that.

Tomryan:

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but from what I've read, Cat Stevens never supported the fatwah against Rushdie. He was asked by a reporter about the fatwah, and, from what I recollect, he responded that, if the Koran were interpreted strictly, then, yes, Rushdie would die. But then he added that he did not favor strict, fundamentalist interpretations of the Koran. His major mistake was that he didn't come out and explicitly say that he was opposed to the fatwah. The reporter took his comments and twisted them so that people interpreted them to mean that he did support the fatwah. Stevens did issue a few press releases to the contrary, but by then, there was such a furor over the story that his response went ignored. And the murder of the translators had nothing to do with his comments. It was a terrorist move by fundamentalists--something that this country is all too familiar with. I can't speak to the criticism of his charity, as I never heard anything about that. I will look into it further, though. And I can't blame him for not speaking up against the Taliban. He may be principled, but he's not stupid. Ever think of what happened to those who did speak up? Let's just say, they'll never be heard from again. I have my opinion, and I do admitre the guy. He made a bold decision at the height of his fame and threw away countless millions to follow his religious convictions. I wonder how many here would do that. Would you?

Tomryan:

Let's get away from politics and back to what's REALLY important: the music!! Yes, Peter Green is recording again. Actually, he has been for a while--with a band called the Splinter Group, but I'm not sure if he's still with them. I saw him in a small club in Minneapolis a few years back, and he was very good. His guitar skills are not what they were at the peak of the blues-era Fleetwood Mac, but considering what he's gone through and how long he avoided the guitar after his breakdown, his picking was still mighty impressive. He looked very nervous throughout--obviously a residual effect of his mental illness--but the crowd's fervent applause seemed to inspire him. He smiled a lot and gave a lot of "thank you's" to the crowd. Overall, it was a very nice show, and a very welcome reintroduction to a blues giant.

Tomryan:

Where did I ever say that "even Hooper believes you'd better not do the same to Islam or you get get your head cut off, shot five times and stabbed multiple times in the chest, blown up at work or in your hotel, etc." You should check my posts before you make that kind of inflammatory comment. I never said anything even resembling that. In fact, I'm not even going to grace your reply with a response. I'll leave it up to the respondents to decide. After your initial post, I thought you'd know better.