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Van Morrison: Singers
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Morrison left home at seventeen to tour Europe with the group the Monarchs alongside his boyhood friend, George Jones, who later founded the showband Clubsound. Upon returning to East Belfast, the Monarchs disbanded.[19] Morrison connected with Geordie Sproule again and played with him in the Manhattan Showband along with guitarist Herbie Armstrong. When Armstrong auditioned to play with Brian Rossi and the Golden Eagles, Morrison went along and both were hired. He had acquired his first position as a blues singer as the band was not in need of a saxophonist, but he soon left to form an R&B Club at the Maritime Hotel. Needing a group to perform with there, he joined up with the members of The Gamblers. Before the first opening night at the Maritime in April 1964, the group changed their name to Them from a Fifties horror movie.[20] Morrison soon came to prominence fronting the band, as he was the only song-writer.
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It's eeire how Van Morrison can remain so rigid throughout an entire performance. His stoicism only heightens his mysterious persona. Clad in a black suit adorned with hundreds of sparkles, black fedora and dark sunglasses, the overweight singer's minimilistic stage presence effectively enhanced his beautiful poetry. The well dressed and mostly middle-aged audience embraced this Celtic poet with a sedated fervor as personally intense as any mosh pitter at a Limp Bizkit show could only hope to muster. What the bard's friends lacked in testosterone laced aggression was more than made up for with introspective adulation.
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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.
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Journalists have described Morrison as one of the most serious singers with high moral values, something that lacks in the music business. His lyrics and music are influenced on the works of poet and New Age prophet William Blake, Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger, occult and spiritualist poet W.B. Yeats, Alice Bailey, and of many other religious visionaries. Those authors add mythic powers to Morrison's singular musical vision and his articulation of emotional truths.
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The first half of the 1970s was the most fertile creative period of Morrison's career. From “Moondance” onward, his records reflected an increasingly celebratory and profoundly mystical outlook. Despite Morrison’s absence from the charts during most his musical journey, proof of his renewed popularity arrived with the 1990 release of Mercury's best-of package. This was far and away the best-selling album of his career. The album introduced the singer to a new generation of fans and solidified his position as a true music innovator.
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