Editing Van Morrison (section)

==Artistry==
===Vocals===
{{quote box
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| quote  = It is at the heart of Morrison's presence as a singer that when he lights on certain sounds, certain small moments inside a song—hesitations, silences, shifts in pressure, sudden entrances, slamming doors—can then suggest whole territories, completed stories, indistinct ceremonies, far outside anything that can be literally traced in the compositions that carry them.
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| source = –[[Greil Marcus]]<ref name="MarcusPage108">Marcus (2010), page 108.</ref>
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Featuring his characteristic growl—a mix of [[folk music|folk]], [[blues]], [[soul music|soul]], [[jazz]], [[gospel music|gospel]], and [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] [[Celtic music|Celtic]] influences—Morrison is widely considered by many rock historians to be one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of [[rock and roll]].<ref name="Fallis, Jeff">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/08/van-morrison-between-the-heart-and-the-throat.html|magazine=[[Paste Magazine]]|title=Van Morrison: Between the Heart and the Throat|author=Fallis, Jeff|date=31 August 2015|access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Sheffield, Rob">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/duets-re-working-the-catalogue-114130/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=Duets: Re-Working the Cataloguet|author=Sheffield, Rob|date=24 March 2015|access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Van Morrison Biography: Rolling Stone">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622011927/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/biography|title=Van Morrison Biography: Rolling Stone|archive-date=22 June 2008|publisher=Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (Simon and Shulster, 2001)|access-date=17 May 2010|url-status=dead|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/biography}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic: Van Morrison biography|author=Ankeny, Jason|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=6 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/van-morrison/|title=R&R Hall of Fame:Van Morrison|website=Rockhall.com|access-date=7 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604035945/http://rockhall.com/inductees/van-morrison/|archive-date=4 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Critic [[Greil Marcus]] has said "no white man sings like Van Morrison."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/van-morrison-still-on-top-greatest-hits-$1153228.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201180359/http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/van-morrison-still-on-top-greatest-hits-%241153228.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date= 1 December 2008|title=Van Morrison: Still on Top – The Greatest Hits|author=Meghan, Graham|date=7 October 2007|website=Inthenews.co.uk|access-date=17 October 2008}}</ref> In his 2010 book, Marcus wrote, "As a physical fact, Morrison may have the richest and most expressive voice pop music has produced since [[Elvis Presley]], and with a sense of himself as an artist that Elvis was always denied."<ref>Marcus (2010), page 7</ref>

As Morrison began live performances of the 40-year-old album ''Astral Weeks'' in 2008, there were comparisons to his youthful voice of 1968. His early voice was described as "flinty and tender, beseeching and plaintive".<ref name="O'Hagan, Sean">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/02/vanmorrison-popandrock|work=The Guardian|author=O'Hagan, Sean|date=2 November 2008|title=Is this the best album ever made?|access-date=2 May 2009|location=London}}</ref> Forty years later, the difference in his vocal range and power were noticeable but reviewers and critic's comments were favourable: "Morrison's voice has expanded to fill his frame; a deeper, louder roar than the blue-eyed soul voice of his youth—softer on the diction—but none the less impressively powerful."<ref name="McNulty, Bernadette">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/bernadettemcnulty/5245540/On-another-Astral-plane.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629212916/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/bernadettemcnulty/5245540/On-another-Astral-plane.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=On Another Astral Plane|author=McNulty, Bernadette|date=29 April 2009|access-date=2 May 2009|location=London}}</ref> Morrison also commented on the changes in his approach to singing: "The approach now is to sing from lower down [the diaphragm] so I do not ruin my voice. Before, I sang in the upper area of my throat, which tends to wreck the vocal cords over time. Singing from lower in the belly allows my resonance to carry far. I can stand four feet from a mic and be heard quite resonantly."<ref name="Astral Traveller">Neil, Chris, ''Performing Songwriter'', Issue 116, March/April 2009, Pages 44–50</ref>

===Songwriting and lyrics===
Morrison has written hundreds of songs<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1882001,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302082256/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1882001,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2009|magazine=Time|title=10 Questions for Van Morrison|date=26 February 2009|access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Van Morison songs|access-date=7 May 2009}}</ref> during his career with a recurring theme reflecting a nostalgic yearning for the carefree days of his childhood in Belfast.<ref name="Astral Travels">{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-02-18/music/the-astral-travels-of-van-morrison/|date=17 February 2009|website=The Village Voice|author=Foundas, Scott|title=The Astral Travels of Van Morrison|access-date=18 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222041219/http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-02-18/music/the-astral-travels-of-van-morrison/|archive-date=22 February 2009}}</ref> Some of his song titles derive from familiar locations in his childhood, such as "[[Cyprus Avenue]]" (a nearby street), "[[Orangefield (song)|Orangefield]]" (the boys' school he attended), and "On Hyndford Street" (where he was born). Also frequently present in Morrison's best love songs is a blending of the sacred-profane as evidenced in "[[Into the Mystic]]" and "So Quiet in Here".<ref name="HintonPage13">Hinton (1997), page 13.</ref><ref name="Enlightenment">{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=Enlightenment: Van Morrison review|author=Swenson, John|date=15 November 1990}}</ref>

Beginning with his 1979 album, ''[[Into the Music]]'', and the song "[[And the Healing Has Begun]]", a frequent theme of his music and lyrics has been based on his belief in the healing power of music combined with a form of [[mysticism|mystic]] Christianity. This theme has become one of the predominant qualities of his work.<ref name="CollisPage 149">Collis (1996), page 149.</ref>

His lyrics show the influence of the visionary poets [[William Blake]] and [[W. B. Yeats]]<ref name="HintonPage12">Hinton (1997), page 12.</ref> and others such as [[Samuel Coleridge|Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] and [[William Wordsworth]].<ref name=TurnerPage145>Turner (1993), page 145</ref> Biographer [[Brian Hinton]] believes "like any great poet from Blake to [[Seamus Heaney]] he takes words back to their origins in magic ... Indeed, Morrison is returning poetry to its earliest roots—as in [[Homer]] or Old English epics like [[Beowulf]] or the Psalms or folk song—in all of which words and music combine to form a new reality."<ref name="HintonPage13" /> Another biographer, John Collis, believes Morrison's style of jazz singing and repeating phrases preclude his lyrics from being regarded as poetry or as Collis asserts: "he is more likely to repeat a phrase like a mantra, or burst into scat singing. The words may often be prosaic, and so can hardly be poetry."<ref name="CollisPage12">Collis (1996), page 10.</ref>

Morrison has described his songwriting method by remarking: "I write from a different place. I do not even know what it is called or if it has a name. It just comes and I sculpt it, but it is also a lot of hard work doing the sculpting."<ref name="Astral Traveller" />

===Performance style===
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| quote=Van Morrison is interested, ''obsessed'' with how much musical or verbal information he can compress into a small space, and, almost, conversely, how far he can spread one note, word, sound, or picture. To capture one moment, be it a caress or a twitch. He repeats certain phrases to extremes that from anybody else would seem ridiculous, because he's waiting for a vision to unfold, trying as unobtrusively as possible to nudge it along ... It's the great search, fuelled by the belief that through these musical and mental processes illumination is attainable. Or may at least be glimpsed.
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| source = –[[Lester Bangs]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~murray/astral.html|title=Lester Bangs on ''Astral Weeks''|author=Lester Bangs|website=Personal.cis.strath.ac.uk|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204014331/http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~murray/astral.html|archive-date=4 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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Critic [[Greil Marcus]] argues that, given the truly distinctive breadth and complexity of Morrison's work, it is almost impossible to cast his work among that of others: "Morrison remains a singer who can be compared to no other in the history of rock & roll, a singer who cannot be pinned down, dismissed, or fitted into anyone's expectations."<ref name="MarcusPage447">Marcus (1992), page 447.</ref> Or in the words of [[Jay Cocks]]: "He extends himself only to express himself. Alone among rock's great figures—and even in that company he is one of the greatest—Morrison is adamantly inward. And unique. Although he freely crosses musical boundaries— [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], Celtic melodies, jazz, rave-up rock, hymns, down-and-dirty blues—he can unfailingly be found in the same strange place: on his own wavelength."<ref name="Listen to the Lion">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974140-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628235837/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974140-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2011|title=Listen to the Lion|magazine=Time|author=Cocks, Jay|date=28 October 1991|access-date=12 January 2009}}</ref>

His spiritually themed style of music first came into full expression with ''[[Astral Weeks]]'' in 1968 and he was noted to have remained a "master of his [[transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] craft" in 2009 while performing the ''Astral Weeks'' songs live.<ref name="HPMR">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/huffpost-reviews-van-morr_b_161308.html|title=HuffPost Reviews:Van Morrison—Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl|last=Rogogna|first=Mike|date=27 January 2009|newspaper=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="RSAWL">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/astral-weeks-live-at-the-hollywood-bowl-20090204|title=Van Morrison: Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl|author=Fricke, David|date=4 February 2009|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=10 November 2011|archive-date=31 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531091846/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/astral-weeks-live-at-the-hollywood-bowl-20090204|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/11/live-review-van.html|author=Lewis, Randy|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=9 November 2009|title=Live review: Van Morrison at the Hollywood Bowl|access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="LATIMES">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-morrison9-2009jan09,0,5414358.story|title=Van Morrison takes listeners on his spiritual journey|work=Los Angeles Times|date=9 January 2009|author=Lewis, Randy|access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref> This musical art form was based on stream of consciousness songwriting and emotional vocalising of lyrics that have no basis in normal structure or symmetry. His live performances are dependent on building dynamics with spontaneity between himself and his band, whom he controls with hand gestures throughout, sometimes signalling impromptu solos from a selected band member. The music and vocals build towards a hypnotic and trance-like state that depends on in-the-moment creativity. Scott Foundas with ''[[LA Weekly]]'' wrote "he seeks to transcend the apparent boundaries of any given song; to achieve a total freedom of form; to take himself, his band and the audience on a journey whose destination is anything but known."<ref name="Astral Travels" /><ref name="foundas">{{cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/2009-05-14/columns/van-morrison-goes-astral-on-the-tonight-show/|title=Van Morrison Goes Astral on The Tonight Show|date=13 May 2009|work=[[LA Weekly]]|last=Foundas|first=Scott|access-date=18 December 2009|archive-date=1 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101142926/http://www.laweekly.com/2009-05-14/columns/van-morrison-goes-astral-on-the-tonight-show|url-status=dead}}</ref> Greil Marcus wrote an entire book devoted to examining the moments in Morrison's music where he reaches this state of transcendence and explains: "But in his music the same sense of escape from ordinary limits—a reach for, or the achievement of, a kind of violent transcendence—can come from hesitations, repetitions of words or phrases, pauses, the way a musical change by another musician is turned by Morrison as a bandleader or seized on by him as a singer and changed into a sound that becomes an event in and of itself. In these moments, the self is left behind, and the sound, that "yarragh," becomes the active agent: a musical person, with its own mind, its own body."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jun/05/listening-van-morrison-greil-marcus|title=Listening to Van Morrison by Greil Marcus|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|last=Marcus|first=Greil|date=4 June 2010|access-date=21 August 2012}}</ref> A book reviewer further described it as "This transcendent moment of music when the song and the singer are one thing not two, neither dependent on the other or separate from the other but melded to the other like one, like breath and life ..."<ref name="MWM">{{cite web|url=http://www.muddywatermagazine.com/When-That-Rough-God-Goes-Riding-Review-by-Will-Brennan.html|title=When That Rough God Goes Riding:Book Review-Greil Marcus|author=Brennan, Will|date=25 April 2010|work=Muddy Water Magazine|access-date=19 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121215837/http://www.muddywatermagazine.com/When-That-Rough-God-Goes-Riding-Review-by-Will-Brennan.html|archive-date=21 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Morrison has said he believes in the [[jazz]] [[improvisational]] technique of never performing a song the same way twice and except for the unique rendition of the ''Astral Weeks'' songs live, doesn't perform a concert from a preconceived set list.<ref name="LA Weekly snags a rare one-on-one" /> Morrison has said he prefers to perform at smaller venues or symphony halls noted for their good [[acoustics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.dailycal.org/article/105492/famed_artist_van_morrison_talks_about_musical_career|website=Dailycal.org|title=Famed artist Van Morrison talks about his musical career|date=30 April 2009|author=Lee, Stefanie|access-date=5 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105162345/http://archive.dailycal.org/article/105492/famed_artist_van_morrison_talks_about_musical_career|archive-date=5 November 2012}}</ref> His ban against alcoholic beverages, which made entertainment news during 2008, was an attempt to prevent the disruptive and distracting movement of audience members leaving their seats during the performances.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ok.co.uk/celebnews/view/3368/Morrison-bans-alcohol-at-gigs/|title=Morrison bans alcohol at gigs|magazine=OK!|date=18 September 2008|access-date=25 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322123911/http://www.ok.co.uk/celebnews/view/3368/Morrison-bans-alcohol-at-gigs|archive-date=22 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a 2009 interview, Morrison stated: "I do not consciously aim to take the listener anywhere. If anything, I aim to take myself there in my music. If the listener catches the wavelength of what I am saying or singing, or gets whatever point whatever line means to them, then I guess as a writer I may have done a day's work."<ref name="latimes9Jan">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-morrison9-2009jan09,0,5414358.story|title=Van Morrison takes listeners on his spiritual journey|work=Los Angeles Times|date=9 January 2009|author=Lewis, Randy|access-date=22 January 2009}}</ref>

===Genre===
The music of Van Morrison has encompassed many genres since his early days as a [[blues]] and [[rhythm and blues|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 [[cover versions|covers]] have moved between pop music, [[jazz]], rock, [[folk music|folk]], [[country music|country]], [[gospel music|gospel]], [[folk music of Ireland|Irish folk]] and [[Irish traditional music|traditional]], [[big band]], [[skiffle]], [[rock and roll]], [[New-age music|new age]], classical and sometimes [[spoken word]] ("[[Coney Island (Van Morrison song)|Coney Island]]") and [[instrumental]]s.<ref name="HintonPage15">Hinton (1997), page 15.</ref> Morrison defines himself as a soul singer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mvremix.com/rock_blogs/2009/01/08/van-morrisons-astral-weeks-live-at-the-hollywood-bowl-chronicles-the-first-ever-live-performance-of-legendary-soul-singers-revered-1968-album/|website=Mvremix.com|date=8 January 2009|title=Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl"|access-date=29 May 2009}}</ref>

Morrison's music has been described by music journalist [[Alan Light]] as "Celtic soul",<ref name="Astral Weeks, Light" /> or what biographer Brian Hinton referred to as a new alchemy called "Caledonian soul."<ref name="HintonPage13" /> Another biographer, [[Ritchie Yorke]] quoted Morrison as believing that he has "the spirit of Caledonia in his soul and his music reflects it."<ref name="Yorke Page159">Yorke (1975), page 159.</ref> According to Yorke, Morrison claimed to have discovered "a certain quality of soul" when he first visited Scotland (his Belfast ancestors were of [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] descent) and Morrison has said he believes there is some connection between soul music and Caledonia. Yorke said Morrison "discovered several years after he first began composing music that some of his songs lent themselves to a unique major modal scale (without sevenths) which of course is the same scale as that used by [[bagpipes|bagpipe]] players and old Irish and Scottish folk music."<ref name="Yorke Page159" />

==='Caledonia' theme===
The name "[[Caledonia]]" has played a prominent role in Morrison's life and career. Biographer [[Ritchie Yorke]] had pointed out already by 1975 that Morrison has referred to Caledonia so many times in his career that he "seems to be obsessed with the word".<ref name="Yorke Page159" /> In his 2009 biography, Erik Hage found "Morrison seemed deeply interested in his paternal Scottish roots during his early career, and later in the ancient countryside of England, hence his repeated use of the term ''Caledonia'' (an ancient Roman name for Scotland/northern Britain)".<ref>Hage (2009), page 52</ref> As well as being his daughter [[Shana Morrison|Shana]]'s middle name, it is the name of his first production company, his studio, his publishing company, two of his backing groups, his parents' record store in Fairfax, California in the 1970s, and he also recorded a cover of the song "[[Caldonia]]" (with the name spelt "Caledonia") in 1974.<ref name="Yorke Page159" /><ref>Collis (1996), page134"</ref> Morrison used "Caledonia" in what has been called a quintessential Van Morrison moment in the song, "[[Listen to the Lion]]" with the lyrics, "And we sail, and we sail, way up to Caledonia".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2005/11/listening-to-old-voices-van-morrison.html|website=Paste|author=Whitman, Andy|title=Listening to Old Voices: Van Morrison The Lion In Winter|date=14 November 2005|access-date=17 January 2009}}</ref> Morrison used "Caledonia" as a [[mantra]] in the live performance of the song "[[Astral Weeks (song)|Astral Weeks]]" recorded at the two [[Hollywood Bowl]] concerts.<ref name="latimes9Jan" /> As late as 2016's ''[[Keep Me Singing]]'' album, he recorded a self-penned instrumental entitled "Caledonia Swing."

===Influence===
Morrison's influence can readily be heard in the music of a diverse array of major artists. According to ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll'' (Simon & Schuster, 2001), "his influence among rock singers/song writers is unrivaled by any living artist outside of that other prickly legend, [[Bob Dylan]]. Echoes of Morrison's rugged literateness and his gruff, feverish emotive vocals can be heard in latter day icons ranging from [[Bruce Springsteen]] to [[Elvis Costello]]".<ref name="Van Morrison Biography: Rolling Stone" /> He has influenced an array of top tier performers, including [[U2]], with [[Bono]] recalling, "I am in awe of a musician like Van Morrison. I had to stop listening to Van Morrison records about six months before we made ''[[The Unforgettable Fire]]'' because I didn't want his very original soul voice to overpower my own".<ref>Bayles, Martha. ''Hole in Our Soul: Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music.'' New York: Free Press, 1994, p.321.</ref> He has inspired [[John Mellencamp]] ("[[Wild Night]]");<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p105068|pure_url=yes}}|title=John Mellencamp Biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> [[Jim Morrison]];<ref name="HintonPage67" /> [[Joan Armatrading]] (the only musical influence she will acknowledge);<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/24/arts/the-pop-life-369888.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|title=The Pop Life|author=Holden, Stephen|date=24 August 1988|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> [[Nick Cave]];<ref>{{cite news|url=http://larecord.com/interviews/2008/09/17/nick-cave-the-blood-drained-from-their-faces|title=NICK CAVE: THE BLOOD DRAINED FROM THEIR FACES|publisher=L.A. Record|author=Chris Ziegler|date=17 September 2008|access-date=15 March 2013|archive-date=31 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731085401/http://larecord.com/interviews/2008/09/17/nick-cave-the-blood-drained-from-their-faces|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Rod Stewart]];<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/15/have-i-told-you-lately-rod-steward-coming-singapore.html|title=Have I told you lately that Rod Stewart is coming to Singapore?|newspaper=[[The Jakarta Post]]|author=Petite, Kathy|date=15 February 2009|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> [[Tom Petty]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21113 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109074719/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21113 |url-status=dead |archive-date= 9 January 2009|author=Lang, Joe|date=29 July 2008|title=Tom Petty and Steve Winwood|website=Jazz.com|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref> [[Rickie Lee Jones]] (recognises both [[Laura Nyro]] and Van Morrison as the main influences on her career);<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rickie-lee-jones-the-devil-in-miss-jones-573273.html|title=Rickie Lee Jones: The devil in Miss Jones|author=Gill, Andy|date=16 January 2004|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|access-date=22 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1786/19971107/jones_rickie_lee.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524204121/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1786/19971107/jones_rickie_lee.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2011|title=You say it's your birthday: Rickie Lee Jones|date=7 November 1997|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> [[Elton John]];<ref>"Elton had clamored to get his new band on [[Tumbleweed Connection]] and succeeded with "Amoreena"... He also plays organ on the song and sings the lyrics in a lower voice than in the rest of the album. He later attributed this to Van Morrison's influence." see, Rosenthal, ''His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John'', pages 25–26.</ref> [[Graham Parker]];<ref name="segerfile.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.segerfile.com/influences.html|title=The Seger File|website=Segerfile.com|access-date=4 July 2008|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117071355/http://www.segerfile.com/influences.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Sinéad O'Connor]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sinead-oconnor.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=193&Itemid=179|title=No woman, No cry-Hot Press 1995|website=Sinead-oconnor.com|access-date=28 September 2008}}</ref> [[Phil Lynott]] of [[Thin Lizzy]];<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p19057|pure_url=yes}}|title=Phil Lynott Biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Prato, Greg|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref> [[Bob Seger]] ("I know Bruce Springsteen was very much affected by Van Morrison, and so was I")<ref name="segerfile.com" />  [[Kevin Rowland]] of [[Dexys Midnight Runners]] ("[[Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)|Jackie Wilson Said]]");<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/dexys_midnight_runners/reviews/10194 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007072838/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/dexys_midnight_runners/reviews/10194 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 October 2008|title=Dexy's Midnight Runners – Too Rye Ay|author=Stephen Trousse|work=Uncut|access-date=29 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p17004|pure_url=yes}}|title=Dexys Midnight Runners Biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Huey, Steve|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> [[Jimi Hendrix]] ("[[Gloria (Them song)|Gloria]]");<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/jimi-hendrix/gloria/3343797/lyrics.jhtml|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722135337/http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/jimi-hendrix/gloria/3343797/lyrics.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 July 2012|title=Music: lyrics Gloria|publisher=CMT|access-date=6 August 2008}}</ref> [[Jeff Buckley]] ("[[The Way Young Lovers Do]]", "[[Sweet Thing (Van Morrison song)|Sweet Thing]]");<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88091608|title=Assisted Listen: TV homage boosts Buckley|website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR|access-date=4 July 2008}}</ref> [[Nick Drake]];<ref name="Moon Page236">Moon (2008), page 238.</ref> and numerous others, including [[Counting Crows]] (their "sha-la-la" sequence in ''Mr Jones'' is a tribute to Morrison).<ref name="Salon VM bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison|website=Salon|title=Van Morrison Biography|access-date=30 April 2010|archive-date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130053322/http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison|url-status=dead}}</ref> Morrison's influence reaches into the country music genre, with [[Hal Ketchum]] acknowledging, "He (Van Morrison) was a major influence in my life."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/20/songwriter-singer-nds-right-mix-his-life/|author=Fink, Jerry|date=20 May 2008|title=Songwriter, singer finds the right mix for his life|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|access-date=13 July 2008}}</ref> [[Ray Manzarek]] of the Doors described Van Morrison as "our [the Doors] favourite singer".<ref>{{cite book |first=Ray |last=Manzarek |author-link=Ray Manzarek |title=Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hX95AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT164 |date=15 October 1999 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-698-15101-7 |page=164}}</ref>

Morrison has typically been supportive of other artists, often willingly sharing the stage with them during his concerts. On the live album ''[[A Night in San Francisco]]'', he had as his special guests, among others, his childhood idols: [[Jimmy Witherspoon]], [[John Lee Hooker]] and [[Junior Wells]].<ref name="ANISF" /> Although he often expresses his displeasure (in interviews and songs) with the music industry and the media in general, he has been instrumental in promoting the careers of many other musicians and singers, such as [[James Hunter (singer)|James Hunter]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5364455|title=James Hunter in Concert|website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR|access-date=30 March 2007}}</ref> and fellow Belfast-born brothers [[Brian Kennedy (singer)|Brian]] and [[Bap Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.briankennedy.co.uk/biography.html|date=July 2006|title=Biography-Brian Kennedy|website=Briankennedy.co.uk|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183256/http://www.briankennedy.co.uk/biography.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=65 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310234504/http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=65 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2008|title=My cultural life: Bap Kennedy|website=Culturenorthernireland.org|access-date=3 August 2009}}</ref> He has also influenced the visual arts: the German painter [[Johannes Heisig]] created a series of lithographs illustrating the book ''In the Garden – for Van Morrison'', published by Städtische Galerie [[Sonneberg]], Germany, in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Woe%253D11910413X%2526any&currentPosition=6|title=Catalogue of German National Library|access-date=21 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702175139/https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Woe%3D11910413X%26any&currentPosition=6|archive-date=2 July 2017}}</ref>

====Next generation====
Morrison's influence on a younger generation of singer-songwriters is pervasive. The list of such singer-songwriters influenced by Morrison includes Irish singer [[Damien Rice]], who has been described as on his way to becoming the "natural heir to Van Morrison";<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arts.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/article3038395.ece|author=Perrone, Pierre|date=8 October 2007|title=Damien Rice, Wembley Arena London|work=The Independent|location=UK|access-date=17 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013083854/http://arts.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/article3038395.ece|archive-date=13 October 2007}}</ref> [[Ray Lamontagne]];<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p96200|pure_url=yes}} |author=Leggett, Steve |title=Ray Lamontagne Biography |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> [[James Morrison (singer)|James Morrison]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/31606/james-morrison-undiscovered/|author=Joseph, Mike|date=13 March 2007|title=James Morrison Undiscovered|website=PopMatters|access-date=30 March 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_James/2007/04/10/3972282.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025303/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_James/2007/04/10/3972282.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=29 June 2012|author=Daniell, Mark|title=Morrison Tries to Live up to Hype|website=Canoe.ca|access-date=14 April 2007}}</ref> [[Paolo Nutini]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-paolo-nutini-sunny-side-up-atlantic-1692411.html|title=Album: Sunny Side Up Review|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|author=Gill, Andy|date=29 May 2009|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> [[Eric Lindell]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.nola.com/keithspera/2008/01/eric_lindell_shines_on_new_low.html|author=Spera, Keith|date=25 January 2008|title=Eric Lindell shines on new Low on Cash, Rich in Love|website=Nola.com|access-date=3 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128143722/http://blog.nola.com/keithspera/2008/01/eric_lindell_shines_on_new_low.html|archive-date=28 January 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[David Gray (British musician)|David Gray]] and [[Ed Sheeran]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2011/0909/1224303728073.html|title=Ed Sheeran|author=Clayton-Lea, Tony|date=9 September 2011|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=4 June 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120604022612/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2011/0909/1224303728073.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> are also several of the younger artists influenced by Morrison. [[Glen Hansard]] of the Irish rock band [[the Frames]] (who lists Van Morrison as being part of his holy trinity with Bob Dylan and [[Leonard Cohen]]) commonly covers his songs in concert.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/dylan-support-slot-a-dream-come-true/2007/08/15/1186857582503.html|date=15 August 2007|title=Dylan support slot a dream come true|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> American rock band [[the Wallflowers]] have covered "[[Into the Mystic]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-w/wallflowers_main.htm|title=The Wallflowers – Timeline|website=Rockonthenet.com|access-date=13 July 2008}}</ref> Canadian blues-rock singer [[Colin James]] also covers the song frequently at his concerts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/J/James_Colin/2006/10/17/2048468.html|title=Colin James makes big return|website=Jam.canoe.ca|author=McEwen, Kerra|date=17 October 2006|access-date=22 May 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709142102/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/J/James_Colin/2006/10/17/2048468.html|archive-date=9 July 2012}}</ref> Actor and musician [[Robert Pattinson]] has said Van Morrison was his "influence for doing music in the first place".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fandango.com/commentator_exclusive+interview3a+robert+pattinson_203?wssac=123&wssaffid=11842|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123202825/http://www.fandango.com/commentator_exclusive+interview3a+robert+pattinson_203?wssac=123&wssaffid=11842|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2013|website=Fandango.com|title=Exclusive interview: Robert Pattinson|author=Atkin, Hillary|date=16 November 2008|access-date=1 December 2008}}</ref> Morrison has shared the stage with Northern Irish singer-songwriter [[Duke Special]], who admits Morrison has been a big influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/?a=323&pr=77&day=&genre=|title=Greenbelt – Duke Special|website=Greenbelt.org.uk|access-date=4 December 2008}}</ref>