George Ivan Morrison AKA Van Morrison, OBE, was born on 31 August 1945 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was the only child of George Morrison, a shipyard worker and Violet Stitt Morrison, a singer and tap dancer in her youth. Morrison’s father had one of the largest record collections in Ulster and the young Morrison grew up listening to artists such as Ray Charles, Lead Belly and Solomon Burke.

He is renowned for being stubborn, but is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and he often gives astounding live performances. His albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are often rated as being some of the best records recorded.

Morrison’s father bought him his first acoustic guitar when he was eleven, and he learned to play some basic chords. He started performing as a professional as a young teenager in the late 1950s playng a number of instruments, including the harmonica, guitar, keyboards, and saxophone in a range of Irish bands covering popular hits of the day.

Morrison formed his first band “The Sputniks”, named after the recently launched Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1. In 1958, the band played at some of the local cinemas, and Morrison took the lead, contributing most of the singing and arranging. His father was ever supportive and he talked him into buying a saxophone, and took lessons in tenor sax and music reading.

Leaving school in 1960 with no qualifications he was expected to get a regular full-time job, finally settling for life as a window cleaner, later writing songs about his experiences. Van had been developing his musical interests from an early age and had some clear ideas about his musical direction.

Touring Europe for the first time at seventeen with his band The Monarchs, Morrison played saxophone, guitar and harmonica regularly, and bass and drums as required. He had become a competent musician and learnt his trade touring clubs and US Army bases in England, Scotland and Germany, playing five sets a night on many occasions. The band recorded a single at Ariola Studios in Cologne which was Morrison’s first on which he played saxophone and remarkably it entered the lower part of German charts.

In the mid-1960s he was the lead singer with Them and recorded the classic “Gloria”, one of the favorites in his sets. When he returned to Belfast the group disbanded and he began his solo career.

While being managed by Bert Berns, Van Morrison released the hit single “Brown Eyed Girl” in 1967. Warner Brothers bought out his contract shortly after due to the death of his manager. He recorded Astral Weeks in 1968 which was critically acclaimed, but sales were initially poor, although it has now grown to become an all-time classic. The album established him as a major recording artist, and throughout the 1970s he built his reputation. Van Morrison continues to tour, record and collaborate with other artists, producing albums and live performances that are well received, returning to live performances of Astral Weeks in 2008 and in to 2009.

Van Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appears on “Greatest Artists” lists as well as receiving six Grammy Awards.