Today is the birthday of Van Morrison, the Northern Irish singer with a unique voice, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. The edit above and his portrait on the musical birthday calendars/reference works below are made by me, Frieke.
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison was born on August 31, 1945, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is considered one of the most influential and respected artists in the history of modern music. Known for his voice and unique blend of various music genres, including rock, jazz, blues, folk, and soul, he has had a career spanning more than six decades and has built an impressive repertoire with numerous iconic songs.
Van Morrison grew up in a musical family; his father collected American jazz and soul records, and his mother was a singer. He learned to play various instruments, including the guitar, saxophone, and harmonica. Ivan started performing at a young age in various bands, and at 15, he left school to become a full-time musician. Van began his music career in the 1960s as a member of the band Them, a rhythm-and-blues group from Belfast. The band broke through in their home country in 1965 with the song Gloria written by Morrison. The song became a worldwide hit.
After his time with Them, Van Morrison embarked on a successful solo career. In 1967, his solo debut album Blowin' Your Mind! was released, featuring the iconic song Brown Eyed Girl. Throughout his career, he has released numerous remarkable albums, including Astral Weeks (1968), often considered a masterpiece due to its lyrical depth and musical complexity. Moondance (1970) features, in addition to the jazzy title tracktitelnummer, well-known songs such as Crazy Love, And It Stoned Me and Into The Mystic. His Band And The Street Choir (1970) includes the hit Domino. Saint Dominic's Preview (1972) features met Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) en Into The Music (1979) met Bright Side Of The Road. Morrison continued to release albums in the 1980s, including Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983) en Poetic Champions Compose (1987). In 1988, he made the folk album Irish Heartbeat with The Chieftains. The album Avalon Sunset featuring Have I Told You Lately, reached the top 10 of the album charts in 1989. After a period of disco music, a new generation was introduced to Van Morrison. He performed at events such as Pinkpop and the North Sea Jazz Festival, and his older work was re-released. In 2005, the album Magic Time also reached the top 10.
Van Morrison has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including multiple Grammy Awards and a British knighthood in 1996. He remains very active, both on stage and in the recording studio. In 2015, the album Duets: Re-working The Catalogue was released, featuring duets with Gregory Porter, Mick Hucknall, George Benson, Michael Bublé, Steve Winwood, and Mark Knopfler. In 2016, Keep Me Singing was released, followed by his most recent albums, Latest Record Project Volume 1 (2021) and Moving On Skiffle (2023)
What sets Van Morrison apart is his ability to embrace and combine various musical genres, resulting in a unique sound often described as Celtic Soul. Although Van Morrison's career has not been without controversy, and he is known for his strong personality, reserved attitude toward interviews and the
Reactie plaatsen
Reacties