Van Morrison (born George Ivan Morrison on 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter who has been a professional musician since 1960. He has won six Grammy awards and was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2003. Morrison began to write and record his first original songs while frontman for the band Them and in the years since has written hundreds of songs, many of them covered by popular and major artists.
In 2012, Paste compiled a list of covers by Glen Hansard, Jeff Buckley, The Doors, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Ben E. King, Solomon Burke, Michael Bublé, Sinéad O'Connor and Bruce Springsteen as their pick of the 10 Best Covers of Van Morrison Songs. [1]
This article is a selective list of prominent musicians or entertainers who have recorded their own version of a song which Van Morrison originally wrote and recorded. There are also some notable or frequently performed live versions included.
Sir George Ivan MorrisonOBE is a singer-songwriter and musician from Northern Ireland whose recording career spans seven decades.
Moondance is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album Astral Weeks (1968), Morrison moved to upstate New York with his wife and began writing songs for Moondance. There, he met the musicians that would record the album with him at New York City's A & R Studios in August and September 1969.
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 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.
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.
It's Too Late to Stop Now is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and the Rainbow in London, during Morrison's three-month tour with his eleven-piece band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, from May to July 1973. Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever, It's Too Late to Stop Now was recorded during what has often been said to be the singer's greatest phase as a live performer.
A Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were Candy Dulfer, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison. James Hunter and Brian Kennedy helped out with the vocals and Georgie Fame was also present.
"Into the Mystic" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his 1970 album Moondance. It was also included on Morrison's 1974 live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now.
"Wild Night" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and is the opening track on his fifth studio album Tupelo Honey. It was released as a single in 1971 and reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2022, the song peaked at #1 on the radio airplay chart in Canada.
"Have I Told You Lately" is a song written and recorded by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison for his nineteenth studio album, Avalon Sunset (1989). It is a romantic ballad that is often played at weddings, although it was originally written as a prayer. The opening line is from the song "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" by William Bell.
"Moondance" is a song recorded by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison and is the title song on his third studio album Moondance (1970). It was written by Morrison, and produced by Morrison and Lewis Merenstein.
Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 2007 comprising 19 songs as featured in various movies. The album was released on 12 February 2007 in the United Kingdom and 13 February 2007 in the United States. On the U.S. Billboard 200, the album debuted at No. 35, selling about 29,000 copies in its first week, The album also debuted at No. 17 on the UK Top 75 Album Charts.
"Tupelo Honey" is a popular song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title song from his 1971 album, Tupelo Honey. The title derives from an expensive, mild-tasting tupelo honey produced in the southeastern United States. Released as a single in 1971, it reached number 47 on the U.S. pop chart.
"Someone Like You" is a song written by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his seventeenth studio album, Poetic Champions Compose (1987). It has become a wedding and movie classic and the song subsequently furnished the framework for one of Morrison's most popular classics and love ballads, "Have I Told You Lately", released in 1989.
"Crazy Love" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, Moondance. The song was originally released as the B-side to "Come Running" in May 1970 before it was released as a single in the Netherlands, "Come Running" as the B-side. The cover of the single shows Morrison with his then-wife, Janet "Planet" Rigsbee. The photograph was taken by Elliot Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock festival.
"And It Stoned Me" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It is the opening track on his 1970 solo album, Moondance.
The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released on 11 June 2007 in the UK with a digital version released in the U.S. on iTunes Store on 12 June 2007. Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing released the CD version of the album on 19 June 2007 in the United States. This new two-disc collection of 31 tracks was compiled by Morrison himself. It offers an overview of his large volume of material since the release of The Best of Van Morrison Volume Two in 1993. The album's thirty-one tracks include previously unreleased collaborations with Tom Jones and Bobby Bland as well as duets with John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Ray Charles. The 2003 duet with Ray Charles is "Crazy Love", a song originally recorded on Morrison's 1970 album Moondance. "Blue and Green" was previously donated to be used on the charity album Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now, which raised money for relief efforts intended for Gulf Coast victims devastated by hurricane Katrina. The duet with Tom Jones, "Cry For Home", was taken from the same recording sessions that produced the "Sometimes We Cry" duet between the two artists, which featured on Jones' successful album Reload. "Cry for Home" was released as a single on 4 June 2007 in the UK, and was followed by "Blue and Green" on 27 August.
Van Morrison in Ireland is the first official video by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1981 of a concert Morrison recorded in Northern Ireland in 1979. It was directed by Michael Radford who later became a noted filmmaker. The video includes footage of the band whilst touring in Ireland and images of Belfast, including Hyndford Street and Cyprus Avenue. Tony Stewart of the NME states, "The band display a range of textures reminiscent of The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, first with the dark resonance of Toni Marcus' violin, then Pat Kyle's bright sharp tenor sax and finally Bobby Tench's prickly electric guitar".
"Brand New Day" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his 1970 album Moondance.
Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison is the third tribute album for the songs of Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in August 2003.