R Zimmerman

Van Morrison R Zimmerman

Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison OBE, born on 31st August 1945, Bloomfield, Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. In 2016, Morrison was knighted for his musical achievements and his services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland. Labelled "Van the Man" he started his professional career when just into his teens in the late 1950s, having played many instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for several Irish show-bands, covering the popular hits of the day. Van Morrison rose to fame in the mid-1960s, as lead singer of the Northern Irish R& B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". Van's solo career began under the guidance of Bert Berns, with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. After Berns's death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract, allowing him 3 sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968), which though highly praised sold poorly at first. Moondance (1970) established Morrison as a major artist then he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of highly rated albums and live performances. Van continues to record and tour, producing successful L. P.s while giving well-attended live performances, sometimes collaborating with other artists, including Georgie Fame and The Chieftains. Some of Van's music has been structured following the conventions of soul music and R& B, including the hit singles "Brown Eyed Girl", "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)", "Domino" and "Wild Night". However, many of his records are lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of the Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, including the album Astral Weeks and the less well-known Veedon Fleece and Common One. The 2 strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic soul". He has received 2 Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetimetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.