George Ivan (Van) Morrison was born on 31 August 1945, at 125 Hynford Street,
Bloomfield,
East Belfast,
Northern Ireland as the
only child of George Morrison, a
shipyard electrician, and Violet Stitt Morrison, a singer and
tap dancer in her youth.
Van Morrison's family roots descend from the
Ulster Scots population that settled in Belfast.
From 1950 to 1956, Morrison, who began to be known as "Van" during this time, attended
Elmgrove Primary School Morrison's father had what was at the time one of the largest record collections in
Ulster (acquired during his sojourn in Detroit,
Michigan in the early 1950s),
and the young Morrison grew up listening to artists such as
Jelly Roll Morton,
Ray Charles,
Lead Belly, and
Solomon Burke;
of whom Morrison later said, "If it weren't for guys like Ray and
Solomon, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Ray Charles - I Got A Woman
Jerry Roll Morton - I Tought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say
Lead Belly - Midnight Special
Those guys were the inspiration
that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do
what I'm doing now."
His father's record collection exposed him to various musical genres, such as the
blues of
Muddy Waters; the
gospel of
Mahalia Jackson; the
jazz of
Charlie Parker........
Muddy Waters - I Just Wont To Make Love To You
Charlie Parker - Ko Ko
....the
folk music of
Woody Guthrie; and
country music from
Hank Williams and
Jimmie Rodgers,
while the first record he ever bought was by blues musician
Sonny Terry.
Hank Williams - My Bucket,s Got A Hole In It
Jimmy Reed - Ain,t That Lovin You Baby
Sonny Terry & Brownie Mcgee - Sittin On The Top Of The World
When
Lonnie Donegan had a hit with "
Rock Island Line", written by Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly), Morrison felt he was familiar with and able to connect with
skiffle music as he had been hearing Lead Belly before that.
Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line
Louis Armstrong - St James Infirmery Blues
The music of Van Morrison has encompassed many genres since his early days as a
blues and
R&B
singer in Belfast. Over the years he has recorded songs from a varying
list of genres drawn from many influences and interests. As well as
blues and R&B, his compositions and
covers have moved between pop music,
jazz, rock,
folk,
country,
gospel,
Irish folk and
traditional,
big band,
skiffle,
rock and roll,
new age,
classical and sometimes
spoken word ("
Coney Island") and
instrumentals.Morrison defines himself as a soul singer. (bron Wikipedia)
