As he performed in the festival's coveted "legend slot," Cat Stevens offered a soothing mid-afternoon balm to its party-worn attendees.
With his spiritual songs of love and the pursuit of peace, the singer, also known as Yusuf, touched people's hearts.
Before transitioning to one of his most well-known songs, Moonshadow, he entered the stage strumming an acoustic guitar and playing the gorgeous melody from The Wind.
He looked over the sea of people and said, "Wow, thank you. "Incredible. Woah. ".
"I'm just recalling how, in 1965, in a tiny folk club in Soho, I took my first tentative steps toward a microphone. and now entering Glastonbury's famed Pyramid Stage. Amazing journey. ".
Here Comes My Baby, The First Cut Is The Deepest, Matthew, and Son were the first songs he played in the set, and each one got the audience saying, "Oh, I know this one, too.".
The 74-year-old singer was flawless throughout, his soulful baritone largely unaltered from his 1960s heyday.
As the sun battled through the gloomy clouds that have gathered over Glastonbury since lunchtime, an emotional high point was provided by an elegiac rendition of the Christian hymn Morning Is Broken.
The crowd prayed that his rendition of The Beatles' Here Comes The Sun, which he played shortly after, was more of a prophecy than a schadenfreude exercise because they were afraid of a downpour.
Michael Eavis, the festival's founder, who had been trying to get Stevens to take the legends slot for years, made the request to book him for the event.
His daughter Emily told the BBC that "he loves Cat Stevens, as do we all.". We finally caught him this year after several close calls.
Because my dad is such a fan, I've essentially grown up listening to all of these songs. He played Peace Train about 60 times as we drove from Bath to the farm the other day. ".
Since he has had cancer twice in his life, Michael has made this weekend's focus on supporting NHS workers, a sentiment that Stevens echoed on stage.
He told the audience, "I must say I'm one of the lucky ones. This is the NHS's 75th year. It was just a few months old when I was born. So, please accept my sincere gratitude. ".
"All the doctors, all the nurses, and everyone who serves the good health of this country," he then urged the crowd to shout in unison.
As he closed with his two biggest (and most frequently covered) songs, Father and Son and Wild World, the star was undoubtedly overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, which rivaled last night's turnout for Guns N' Roses.
Oh, you're so sweet. You are too kind, he smiled. "Thank you so much for this lovely moment. " .
It was a warm, heartfelt performance that stood out from previous legend slot honorees Kylie Minogue and Diana Ross' massive disco throwdowns.
Anyone in the mood for an early-evening boogie won't have to wait long, but that was expected from the moment Stevens' booking was announced.
Before Elton John's eagerly anticipated headlining performance brings the festival to a close, disco/New wave legends Blondie are up next on the Pyramid Stage. Lil Nas X and spry rap artist are the next two acts.
