Van Morrison

Composer and performer of the ultimate British rock standard, "Gloria", with the band Them, Van Morrison (Ivan George Morrison, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 31, 1945) has been building a unique career since 1967, blending the influences of jazz, rhythm'n'blues, Celtic music, blues, soul and rock. He recorded a number of landmark albums, including Astral Weeks (1968) and its successor Moondance (1970), and Tupelo Honey (1971), and was honored with a host of trophies and other awards. One of the pre-eminent artists of the twentieth century, Van Morrison is considered by some to be the greatest singer of his generation. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015, the man nicknamed "Van the Man" has traversed the decades without faltering, with albums such as Born to Sing: No Plan B (2012) and Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue (2015), in which he celebrates his repertoire in fine company. In 2016, he returns with new songs on Keep Me Singing (2016). He then embarked on a prolific series of jazz/blues recordings: Roll with the Punches and Versatile in 2017, followed by You're Driving Me Crazy and The Prophet Speaks in 2018, featuring organist Joey De Francesco. The following year, Three Chords and the Truth is made up of original tracks. He is responsible for composition and production, as well as singing, playing saxophone, guitar and piano, as on the following Latest Record Project: Volume 1 (2021). On this album and the following What's It Gonna Take? he tackles themes fuelled by the containment controversy he opposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, before returning to the music of his teenage years with skiffle covers on Moving on Skiffle (2023) and rock'n'roll on Accentuate the Positive (2023), followed by jazz swing on New Arrangements and Duets (2024), featuring contributions from Willie Nelson, Joss Stone, Kurt Elling and Curtis Stigers. In 2025, he returned to composition with Remembering Now, whose excerpt "Down to Joy", featured in the soundtrack to Kenneth Branagh's film Belfast, was nominated for an Oscar. The following year, he continued his return to his roots with Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge, featuring contributions from Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy and Elvin Bishop.