The most important Irish rock singer of his generation, Van Morrison blended different genres to make his own sound.
One of the most distinctive talents in rock music, Irish singer Van Morrison fused elements of blues, jazz, and Celtic music to create a complex sound entirely his own. The demands he made on himself and those who played with him ensured that, in three decades as a solo artist, he rarely made anything other than music of the finest quality.
Born George Ivan Morrison on August 31, 1945, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he received a varied musical education thanks to his father’s enthusiasm for collecting jazz and blues records. He achieved success in the mid-1960s as lead singer with the beat group, Them. After Them split up in 1966, Morrison went to the U.S. where, in 1967, he enjoyed a Top 10 hit with “Brown Eyed Girl.” He was, however, anxious to move away from chart-oriented music toward a form that would allow him greater musical and lyrical expression.
The most important Irish rock singer of his generation, Van Morrison blended different genres to make his own sound.
In 1968, Morrison recorded Astral Weeks, one of the most unusual albums in rock. Morrison’s vocals swayed back and forth in free-form over improvisations on instruments such as flute, saxophone, harpsichord, and guitar. “Cyprus Avenue,” and “Madame George” drew on his memories of his youth to add an almost literary quality to the music. The album did not sell well at the time, however, and Morrison decided to go back to a more commercial sound. In Moondance (1970), he created an album that matched Astral Weeks for sophistication, but the songs were more direct. Regardless of the subject matter, Morrison’s singing was always engaging—untutored, but richly gritty and expressive.
Van Morrison built on his success with It’s Too Late to Stop Now (1974), a soulful, live double-album that saw him sensitively rework his own and other people’s songs. After a lull in the mid-1970s, he was back on form with Wavelength (1978), and the ethereal Into the Music (1979). That album found Morrison, a deeply introspective man whose songs often featured a spiritual dimension, giving voice to his Christian beliefs.
In the late 1980s, Morrison returned to his roots for a reworking of Irish and Scottish folk songs on Irish Heartbeat, recorded with Irish folk group The Chieftains. The 1994 live album, A Night in San Francisco, matched It’s Too Late to Stop Now for style, and the continuing freshness of his music on Days Like This (1995) ensured that, as Van Morrison entered his 50s, he continued to appeal to youthful audiences worldwide.
Graham McColl
SEE ALSO:
BLUES; BRITISH BEAT MUSIC; FOLK ROCK; JAZZ.
Hinton, Brian. Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison (London: Sanctuary, 1997).
Astral Weeks; The Best of Van Morrison; Hard Nose the Highway; Into the Music; Irish Heartbeat; It’s Too Late to Stop Now; Moondance; A Night in San Francisco; St. Dominic’s Preview; T.B. Sheets; Too Long in Exile; Tupelo Honey; Veedon Fleece; Them: Them.