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He initially came to prominence fronting the band Them, which he formed in 1964 and with whom he had a number of chart hits. Morrison became unhappy with increasing emphasis on the use of studio musicians, and left the band after a U.S. tour in 1966. He returned to Belfast, intending to quit the music business. Them’s producer, Bert Berns, persuaded him to return to New York and record solo. From these early sessions emerged one of his best-known songs, “Brown-Eyed Girl.”

After Berns’s death, Morrison started recording with the Warner Brothers label. His first album for them was Astral Weeks, considered by many to be his best work. Released in 1968, the album was critically acclaimed, but received an indifferent response from the public.

Throughout the rest of his career, he pursued a successful and idiosyncratic musical path. Among his other hits are Domino, Moondance, Wild Night, and Tupelo Honey.

Morrison has expressed a general disdain for the opinions of the press and critics. His work is thoughtful, often spiritual in nature, and combines elements of jazz, R&B, Celtic traditions, and stream-of-consciousness.

In 1990 he joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in BerlinBerlin [ bɛrˈliːn ] is the national capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004); down from 4. 5 million before World War II. Berlin is located on the rivers Spree and Havel in the northea.

Albums: (chronological)

1. Blowin' Your Mind ( 1967Events January January 4 British motorboat racer Donald Campbell dies while attempting a water speed record in Coniston Lake. January 4 Algerian revolutionary Mohammed Khider is shot in Madrid. January 6 Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch " Operatio)
2. Astral Weeks ( 1968Events Undated Booker Prize for Fiction is established by Booker plc. 1968 is known as the year of the Prague Spring and also the year of the Paris riots. The ASCII character code is standardized as ANSI Standard X3. Nauru adopt his national anthem of the)
3. MoondanceMoondance is a folk- R & B album by Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1970 (see 1970 in music). Morrison was never able to achieve widespread popularity, though he has accumulated quite a fan-base in his thirty-plus years of recording and ( 1970Events January events January 1 Construction begins on Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri, in Mayer, Arizona, located 65, miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. January 1 Unix epoch at 00:00:00 UTC. January 12 Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. January)
4. His Band and the Street Choir ( 1970Events January events January 1 Construction begins on Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri, in Mayer, Arizona, located 65, miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. January 1 Unix epoch at 00:00:00 UTC. January 12 Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. January)
5. Tupelo HoneyTupelo Honey is a an album by Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1971 (see 1971 in music). The hymn-like title track has been an enduring hit. The namesake for the album is a varietal honey produced from the flowers of the tupelo tree in so ( 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua)
6. Saint Dominic's Preview ( 1972)
7. Hard Nose the Highway ( 1973)
8. It's Too Late to Stop Now ( 1974)
9. Veedon Fleece ( 1974)
10. A Period of Transition ( 1977)
11. Wavelength ( 1978)
12. Into the Music ( 1979)
13. Common One ( 1980)
14. Beautiful Vision ( 1982)
15. Inarticulate Speech of the Heart ( 1983)
16. A Sense of Wonder ( 1985)
17. No Guru, No Method, No Teacher ( 1986)
18. Poetic Champions Compose ( 1987)
19. Irish Heartbeat ( 1988)
20. Avalon Sunset ( 1989)
21. Enlightenment ( 1990)
22. Hymns to the Silence ( 1991)
23. Too Long in Exile ( 1993)
24. A Night in San Francisco ( 1994)
25. Days Like This ( 1995)
26. How Long Has This Been Going On ( 1996)
27. Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison ( 1996)
28. The Healing Game ( 1997)
29. Back on Top ( 1999)
30. The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast 1998 ( 2000; with Lonnie Donegan)
31. You Win Again ( 2000)
32. Down the Road ( 2002)
33. What's Wrong with this Picture? ( 2003)

External links

• Unofficial fan magazine
• Glastonbury 1989