Van Morrison And His Music In The Early Years
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.
He is renowned for being stubborn, but is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and he often gives astounding live performances. His albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are often rated as being some of the best records recorded.
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.
Morrison formed his first band "The Sputniks", named after the recently launched Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1. In 1958, the band played at some of the local cinemas, and Morrison took the lead, contributing most of the singing and arranging. His father was ever supportive and he talked him into buying a saxophone, and took lessons in tenor sax and music reading.
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.
In the mid-1960s he was the lead singer with Them and recorded the classic "Gloria", one of the favorites in his sets. When he returned to Belfast the group disbanded and he began his solo career.
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.
Van Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appears on "Greatest Artists" lists as well as receiving six Grammy Awards. - 18762
He is renowned for being stubborn, but is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and he often gives astounding live performances. His albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are often rated as being some of the best records recorded.
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.
Morrison formed his first band "The Sputniks", named after the recently launched Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1. In 1958, the band played at some of the local cinemas, and Morrison took the lead, contributing most of the singing and arranging. His father was ever supportive and he talked him into buying a saxophone, and took lessons in tenor sax and music reading.
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.
In the mid-1960s he was the lead singer with Them and recorded the classic "Gloria", one of the favorites in his sets. When he returned to Belfast the group disbanded and he began his solo career.
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.
Van Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appears on "Greatest Artists" lists as well as receiving six Grammy Awards. - 18762
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There is some great information about the latest van morrison tour schedule available at the official Van Morrison concerts site. Extensive news and official reviews are also available here.
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