The Van Morrison Musical Career Story
Born in Belfast in the 1945, in Northern Ireland George Ivan Morrison was an only child. His father George was a ship worker, and mother Violet a housewife, and a competent tap dancer and entertainer in her youth. Fortuitously, his father had acquired a large record collection during a trip to the United States and Van grew up listening to blues artists such as Ray Charles and Leadbelly who were to influence his style later in life.
A critically acclaimed singer and songwriter he is renowned for being stubborn, and often gives astounding live performances. The studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are frequently rated as being some of the best albums ever made.
Fortuitously, his father bought him an acoustic guitar for his eleventh birthday, and he rapidly learned some basic chords from a guitar book. Van Morrison started performing in the late 1950s playing the harmonica, guitar, keyboards, and saxophone in a range of Irish bands covering popular hits of the day.
His first band was known as "The Sputniks" after the Russian satellite and in 1958, the band started to play small venues with Morrison taking the lead with his bluesy rich voice and making organizing most of the arranging.
Not particularly academic, and having no time for school, he left in 1960 with no qualifications. Coming from a working class background he was expected to get a full-time job to contribute to the family upkeep. After a series of unsuccessful soirees into traditional apprenticeships, he finally settled for window cleaning as a stop gap. He later wrote about his experiences in a number of his songs. Morrison had been evolving his musical interests from an early age and was driven to his unique musical direction.
He toured Europe for the first time with the International Monarchs at seventeen, with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harmonica, and bass and drums as required, touring clubs and Army bases in Scotland, England, and Germany, often playing five sets a night. The band cut a single, which was Morrison's first recording at Ariola Studios in Cologne. He played saxophone and it just crept in to the German charts.
He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the gritty Northern Irish R&B band Them and recording the classic "Gloria", which he still plays now. Upon returning to Belfast in November 1963, the group disbanded, so Morrison connected with Geordie Sproule again and played with him in the Manhattan Show band.
His solo career began under the guidance of pop impresario Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. Warner Brothers bought out his contract after Berns died and allowed him several sessions to record Astral Weeks in 1968. Poorly received initially by the public, but critically acclaimed, it has grown to become an all-time classic. Moondance, established Morrison as a major artist, and throughout the 1970s he built on his reputation with a series of critically acclaimed albums and live performances. Morrison continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received; sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains. In 2008 he performed Astral Weeks live for the first time since 1968.
Morrison has received much acclaim including six Grammy Awards, being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appearing on several "Greatest Artists" lists. - 18423
A critically acclaimed singer and songwriter he is renowned for being stubborn, and often gives astounding live performances. The studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are frequently rated as being some of the best albums ever made.
Fortuitously, his father bought him an acoustic guitar for his eleventh birthday, and he rapidly learned some basic chords from a guitar book. Van Morrison started performing in the late 1950s playing the harmonica, guitar, keyboards, and saxophone in a range of Irish bands covering popular hits of the day.
His first band was known as "The Sputniks" after the Russian satellite and in 1958, the band started to play small venues with Morrison taking the lead with his bluesy rich voice and making organizing most of the arranging.
Not particularly academic, and having no time for school, he left in 1960 with no qualifications. Coming from a working class background he was expected to get a full-time job to contribute to the family upkeep. After a series of unsuccessful soirees into traditional apprenticeships, he finally settled for window cleaning as a stop gap. He later wrote about his experiences in a number of his songs. Morrison had been evolving his musical interests from an early age and was driven to his unique musical direction.
He toured Europe for the first time with the International Monarchs at seventeen, with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harmonica, and bass and drums as required, touring clubs and Army bases in Scotland, England, and Germany, often playing five sets a night. The band cut a single, which was Morrison's first recording at Ariola Studios in Cologne. He played saxophone and it just crept in to the German charts.
He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the gritty Northern Irish R&B band Them and recording the classic "Gloria", which he still plays now. Upon returning to Belfast in November 1963, the group disbanded, so Morrison connected with Geordie Sproule again and played with him in the Manhattan Show band.
His solo career began under the guidance of pop impresario Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. Warner Brothers bought out his contract after Berns died and allowed him several sessions to record Astral Weeks in 1968. Poorly received initially by the public, but critically acclaimed, it has grown to become an all-time classic. Moondance, established Morrison as a major artist, and throughout the 1970s he built on his reputation with a series of critically acclaimed albums and live performances. Morrison continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received; sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains. In 2008 he performed Astral Weeks live for the first time since 1968.
Morrison has received much acclaim including six Grammy Awards, being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appearing on several "Greatest Artists" lists. - 18423
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There is some great information about the latest Van Morrison music dates available at the official Van Morrison live site. Extensive news and official reviews are also available here.
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