Musicians - Van Morrison

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	Musicians - Van Morrison

George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born August 31, 1945) is a singer and songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, keyboards, and saxophone.

Morrison first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the British band Them, penning their seminal 1966 hit "Gloria". A few years later, Morrison left the band for a successful solo career.

Morrison has pursued an idiosyncratic musical path. Much of his music is tightly structured around the conventions of American soul and R&B, such as the popular singles "Brown-Eyed Girl", "Moondance", and "Domino". An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as his classic album Astral Weeks and lesser known works such as Veedon Fleece. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic Soul".

Morrison's career, spanning some four decades, has influenced many popular musical artists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2000, Morrison ranked number 25 on American cable music channel VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll.

History

Early history

Growing up in a Protestant, Church of Ireland, family in Belfast, Morrison was exposed to music from an early age, as his father collected American jazz and blues albums, and his mother was a singer. His father's taste in music was passed on to him, and he grew up listening to artists such as Ray Charles, Leadbelly and Solomon Burke. In a 2005 Rolling Stone article he said that "Those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do what I'm doing now."

1960s

Morrison left home at age 15 to pursue a music career. He played in several local skiffle and rock n roll bands before joining the group The Monarchs and touring across Europe. He then formed the group Them in 1964 and came to prominence fronting the band. The band had a number of chart hits, most notably the rock standard, "Gloria", subsequently covered by many artists, including The Doors and Shadows of Knight. At one point in the mid-60's Van also played impromptu in Los Angeles at the Whisky A Go-Go club with Jim Morrison, in which the two sang 'Gloria' together. He is quoted years later during an interview saying, "Of my whole career, the shining moment was when I sang 'Gloria' onstage at the Whisky with Jim Morrison."

Morrison became unhappy with increasing emphasis on the use of studio musicians, and left the band after a U.S. tour in 1966. He returned to Belfast, intending to quit the music business. Them’s producer, Bert Berns, persuaded him to return to New York and record solo for the Bang Records label. From these early sessions emerged one of his best-known songs, "Brown Eyed Girl" (which reached #10 in the US in 1967). Master session drummer Gary Chester played on that song. The album that came from those sessions was Blowin' Your Mind!. Morrison later admitted he wasn't pleased with the results, claiming in a Rolling Stone interview in 1969, "It came out wrong and they released it without my consent." Recordings from these sessions were occasionally re-released by Bang and in bootleg form, under various names. Most of these recordings were remixed and repackaged in 1991 as the Bang Masters. The compilation included an alternate take of "Brown Eyed Girl" as well as early versions of "Beside You" and "Madame George", songs that appear with slightly different chord changes, instrumentation, and lyrics on Morrison's second album.

After Berns’s death in 1967, Morrison moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He was soon confronted with personal and financial problems. He had entered an alcohol-induced depression and had trouble finding gigs. However, through the few gigs he could find, he regained his professional footing and started recording with the Warner Bros. label. His first album for them was Astral Weeks (which he had already performed in several clubs around Boston), a loose song cycle considered by many to be his best work. Released in 1968, the album was critically acclaimed, but received an indifferent response from the public. Morrison, in a Rolling Stone interview in 1970, described the album as a rock opera with a definite story line. Astral Weeks has been placed on several lists of the best albums of all time.

1970s

Morrison then moved to California and released his next album, Moondance in 1970, which reached #29 on the Billboard charts. The style of this album was in great contrast to that of Astral Weeks. Astral Weeks was a sorrowful and vulnerable album, Moondance on the other hand was a much more optimistic and cheerful affair. The title track, though never released in the US as a single, was heavily played in many radio formats. The evocative song "Into the Mystic" has also gained a wide following over the years. He produced the album himself because he felt no one else knew what he was looking for.

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Musicians - Van Morrison

History

Early history

1960s

1970s

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