Sir George Ivan Morrison OBE, professionally known as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose illustrious recording career has spanned an impressive six decades.
As a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments such as guitar, harmonica, keyboards, and saxophone for several Irish show-bands, covering the popular hits of that time. Known affectionately to his devoted fans as "Van the Man," Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B and rock band Them.
With Them, he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria," which cemented his reputation as a talented musician. Under the guidance of pop-oriented producer Bert Berns, Morrison's solo career began in 1967 with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl."
After Berns's untimely death, Warner Bros. Records bought out Morrison's contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). Initially a poor seller, the album has since become regarded as a classic, showcasing Morrison's unique blend of soul, R&B, Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative.
Moondance (1970) solidified Morrison's status as a major artist, and he continued to build upon his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances. Much of his music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B, with an equal part consisting of lengthy, spiritually inspired musical journeys that showcase the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative.
These two strains are often referred to as "Celtic soul." His live performances have been described as "transcendental" and "inspired," with his music attaining "a kind of violent transcendence." Morrison's albums have performed exceptionally well in Ireland and the UK, with over 40 reaching the UK top 40.
He has scored top ten albums in the UK in four consecutive decades, and 18 of his albums have reached the top 40 in the United States, with 12 of those between 1997 and 2017. Morrison has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland, solidifying his status as a legendary musician and songwriter.
