Post by sacrilegend on May 17, 2007 11:08:08 GMT -5
George Ivan Morrison (generally known as Van Morrison) (born August 31, 1945) is a legendary Grammy Award-winning Irish singer, songwriter, author, poet and multi-instrumentalist, who has been a professional musician for more than four decades. He plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, keyboards, drums, and saxophone. Featuring his characteristic growl — a unique mix of throaty folk, blues, Irish, scat, and Celtic influences — Morrison is widely considered one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of rock and roll. Critic Greil Marcus has gone so far as to say that "no white man sings like Van Morrison."
Known as "Van the Man" by his fans, Morrison first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Northern Irish band, Them, penning their seminal 1964 hit "Gloria". A few years later, Morrison left the band for a successful solo career.
Morrison has pursued an idiosyncratic musical path. Much of his music is tightly structured around the conventions of American soul and R&B, such as the popular singles "Brown Eyed Girl", "Moondance", "Domino" and "Wild Night". An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as his classic album Astral Weeks and lesser known works such as Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic Soul".
Morrison's career, spanning some four decades, has influenced many popular musical artists. In 1993 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2000, Morrison ranked #25 on American cable music channel VH1's list of its 100 greatest artists of rock and roll, and in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Van Morrison[1] #42 on their list of The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Q Magazine ranked him #22 on their list of 100 Greatest Singers in April 2007.
He currently lives in Killiney in South Dublin, Ireland.
Discography
Albums
Blowin' Your Mind! (1967) #182 US
Astral Weeks (1968) Did Not Chart
Moondance (1970) #29 US
His Band and the Street Choir (1970) #32 US
Tupelo Honey (1971) #27 US
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972) #15 US
Hard Nose the Highway (1973) #27 US
It's Too Late to Stop Now (1974) #53 US
Veedon Fleece (1974) #53 US
A Period of Transition (1977) #43 US
Wavelength (1978) #28 US
Into the Music (1979) #43 US
Common One (1980) #73 US
Beautiful Vision (1982) #44 US
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983) #116 US
Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984)
A Sense of Wonder (1985) #61 US
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986) #70 US
Poetic Champions Compose (1987) #90 US
Irish Heartbeat (1988); with The Chieftans #102 US
Avalon Sunset (1989) #91 US
Enlightenment (1990) #62 US
Hymns to the Silence (1991) #99 US
Too Long in Exile (1993) #29 US
A Night in San Francisco (1994) #125 US]
Days Like This (1995) #33 US
How Long Has This Been Going On (1996) with Georgie Fame #55 US
Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996) Did Not Chart
The Healing Game (1997) #32 US
Back on Top (1999) #28 US
The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast 1998 (2000; with Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber) Did Not Chart
You Win Again (2000) with Linda Gail Lewis) #161 US
Down the Road (2002) #25 US
What's Wrong with This Picture? (2003) #32 US
Magic Time (2005) #25 US
Pay the Devil (2006) #26 US
Compilations
The Best of Van Morrison (1990)
The Best of Van Morrison Volume Two (1993)
The Philosopher's Stone (1998)
Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits (2007)
The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 (2007)
Limited Editions
Live at Austin City Limits Festival (2006)
DVDs
Live at Montreux 1980/1974 (2006)
Selected Singles
"Brown Eyed Girl" (1967) #10 US
"Sweet Thing" (1968)
"Come Running" (1970) #39 US
"Domino" (1970) #9 US
"Blue Money" (1971) #23 US
"Call Me Up In Dreamland" (1971) #95 US
"Wild Night" (1971) #28 US
"Tupelo Honey" (1972) #47 US
"Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" (1972) #61 US
"Redwood Tree" (1972) #98 US
"Moondance" (1977) #92 US
"Wavelength" (1978) #42 US
"Have I Told You Lately" (1989) #12 US AC
"Real Real Gone" (1990) #18 US MSR
