Sir George Ivan "Van" MorrisonOBE is a singer-songwriter and musician from Northern Ireland whose recording career spans seven decades.
Them were a Northern Irish rock band formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in April 1964, most prominently known for their 1964 garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching Van Morrison's musical career. The original five-member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Milling, Billy Harrison, and Eric Wrixon.
Tupelo Honey is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin County, California, except for "You're My Woman", which he wrote during the recording sessions. Recording began at the beginning of the second quarter of 1971 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco. Morrison moved to the Columbia Studios in May 1971 to complete the album.
"Brown Eyed Girl" is a song by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison. Written by Morrison and recorded in March 1967 for Bang Records owner and producer Bert Berns, it was released as a single in June of the same year on the Bang label, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart. It featured the Sweet Inspirations singing back-up vocals and is considered to be Van Morrison's signature song.
Veedon Fleece is the eighth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in October 1974. Morrison recorded the album shortly after his divorce from wife Janet (Planet) Rigsbee. With his broken marriage in the past, Morrison visited Ireland on holiday for new inspiration, arriving on 20 October 1973. While there he wrote, in less than three weeks, the songs included on the album.
His Band and the Street Choir is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. Originally titled Virgo's Fool, Street Choir was renamed by Warner Bros. without Morrison's consent. Recording began in early 1970 with a demo session in a small church in Woodstock, New York. Morrison booked the A&R Studios on 46th Street in New York City in the second quarter of 1970 to produce two sessions of songs that were released on His Band and the Street Choir.
Beautiful Vision is the thirteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in February 1982. It continued Morrison's departure from R&B at the time, instead favoring Celtic folk and American jazz in its music. As with many of Morrison's recordings, spirituality is a major theme and some of the songs are based on the teachings of Alice Bailey. Other songs show Morrison's Celtic heritage and reminiscence of his Belfast background.
Days Like This is the twenty-third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1995. It is a diverse group of songs offering a variety of moods and styles. It ranked No. 5 on the UK album charts and was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
The Philosopher's Stone is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released in 1998.
The Angry Young Them is the first album by the Northern Irish rock and roll group Them, whose lead singer and songwriter was Van Morrison. The album was released in the UK in June 1965. In the U.S., the album was released as Them with partly different tracks.
"Gloria" is a rock song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964. It was released as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires.
Them Again is the second album by the Northern Irish band Them, fronted by lead singer and songwriter Van Morrison. The album was released by Decca Records in the UK on 21 January 1966, but it failed to chart. In the U.S., the album was released with somewhat different tracks in April 1966 and it peaked at number 138 on the Billboard chart.
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass guitar the only instrumentation. The lyrics were heavily influenced by Symbolist poetry and bid farewell to the titular "Baby Blue". There has been much speculation about the real life identity of "Baby Blue", with possibilities including Joan Baez, David Blue, Paul Clayton, Dylan's folk music audience, and even Dylan himself.
"Cleaning Windows" is a song written by the Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, recorded on his 1982 album Beautiful Vision.
"Mystic Eyes" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison when he was leader of the band Them. It was the opening tune for the band's first album, The Angry Young Them that was released in June 1965. It was released as a single in the US in October 1965 and in the UK on 12 November 1965. It charted at No. 33 in the US but did not chart in the UK.
"Slim Slow Slider" is the closing track on the 1968 album Astral Weeks by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison.
"Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" is a song written and performed by Van Morrison and featured as the opening track on his sixth studio album, Saint Dominic's Preview. It was released by Warner Bros. in July 1972 as the first of three singles from the album and charted at number sixty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Both the music and lyrics are inspired by rhythm and blues singer Jackie Wilson and his song "Reet Petite", which is directly quoted in the song.
"Dweller on the Threshold" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and first released on his 1982 album, Beautiful Vision. It was released as a single on the B-Side in 1982 with the instrumental "Scandinavia" as the "A" tune. Another release in 1984 had a live version of "Dweller on the Threshold" as the A-Side.
Van Morrison: No Surrender is a biography of musician Van Morrison, written by Johnny Rogan. It was first published in 2005 by Secker & Warburg, and another edition was published by Vintage Books in 2006. Rogan interviewed musicians and friends of Morrison, and spent 20 years researching the book and four years writing it. The book is comprehensive, and goes into detail about multiple facets of Morrison's life. Rogan recounts Morrison's youth in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and how early experiences there informed his music. He discusses how Morrison joined various bands before experiencing success with Them. Morrison later signed a contract with Bert Berns and moved to New York, where he became quite popular after recording "Brown Eyed Girl" and albums Astral Weeks and Moondance. Rogan comments on Morrison's exploration of spirituality, and describes how these experiences influenced his musical work. The biography discusses Morrison's move to Britain and then Dublin, and his relationship with model Michelle Rocca.
Thomas Kilpatrick, known as Tommy Scott, is a Scottish songwriter, producer and singer. As a songwriter and producer in the 1960s and 1970s he had numerous hits in pop, rock, and folk styles; including records with Them, The Dubliners, Sydney Devine, Twinkle, and Lena Zavaroni. From the 1980s onwards, he has sung and recorded traditional Scottish music.
