Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison OBE Generally Known As Van Morrison Or Van The Man Born 31 August 1945 Is A Grammy Award-Winning Artist From Belfast Northern Ireland. He's A Singer Songwriter Author Poet And Multi-Instrumentalist Who Has Been A Professional Musician Since 1958. He Plays A Variety Of Instruments Including The Guitar Harmonica Keyboards Drums And Saxophone. Featuring His Characteristic Growl - A Unique Mix Of Folk Blues Irish Scat And Celtic Influences - Morrison Is Widely Considered One Of The Most Unusual And Influential Vocalists In The History Of Rock And Roll. He Has Received Numerous Music Awards During His Career Including Six Grammy Awards 1996–2007 Inductions Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame January 1993 The Songwriters Hall Of Fame June 2003 And The Irish Music Hall Of Fame September 1999 And A Brit Award February 1994 . Known As "Van The Man" By His Fans Morrison First Rose To Prominence As The Lead Singer Of The Northern Irish Band Them Writing Their 1964 Hit "Gloria". A Few Years Later Morrison Left The Band For A Successful Solo Career Starting With The Album Astral Weeks. Morrison Has Pursued An Idiosyncratic Musical Path. Much Of His Music Is Tightly Structured Around The Conventions Of American Soul And R&B Such As The Popular Singles "Brown Eyed Girl" "Moondance" "Domino" And "Wild Night". An Equal Part Of His Catalogue Consists Of Lengthy Loosely Connected Spiritually Inspired Musical Journeys That Show The Influence Of Celtic Tradition Jazz And Stream-Of-Consciousness Narrative Such As His Classic Album Astral Weeks And Lesser Known Works Such As Veedon Fleece And Common One. The Two Strains Together Are Sometimes Referred To As "Celtic Soul " And Morrison Rejects The Characterization Of His Genre Of Music As Rock Citing Elvis Presley As A Non-Influence. He Continues To Perform Regularly And Achieved His Highest U.S. Chart Position Number Ten On The Billboard 200 With His 2008 Album Keep It Simple.
"Moondance" Is A Popular Song Written By Northern Irish Singer-Songwriter Van Morrison And Is The Title Song On His 1970 Album Moondance. It Was Not Released As A Single Until 1977. The Song Is Played Mostly Acoustic Anchored By Electric Bass With Accompaniment By Piano Guitar Saxophone And Flute With The Instruments Played With A Soft Jazz Swing. It's A Song About Autumn The Composer's Favorite Season. Towards The End Of The Song Morrison Imitates A Saxophone. "Moondance" Is The Most Frequently Played Song By Morrison In Concert As It Is The Only Song Known To Have Been Played Over 1 000 Times. Morrison On The Writing Of The Song With "Moondance" I Wrote The Melody First. I Played The Melody On A Soprano Sax And I Knew I Had A Song So I Wrote Lyrics To Go With The Melody. That's The Way I Wrote That One. I Don't Really Have Any Words To Particularly Describe The Song Sophisticated Is Probably The Word I'm Looking For. For Me "Moondance" Is A Sophisticated Song. Frank Sinatra Wouldn't Be Out Of Place Singing That. In The Media "Moondance" Is One Of The Moon-Themed Songs Used In An American Werewolf In London A Comedy-Horror Film Released In 1981. This Song Is Featured In The 2007 Movie August Rush As Performed By Jonathan Rhys Meyers With Robin Williams Playing Harmonica And Also Features An Instrumental Version By Chris Botti. "Moondance" Is One Of The Songs Featured On The Compilation Album Michael Parkinson My Life In Music Which Is A 2-Disc CD Of Michael Parkinson's Favorite Songs. Acclaim "Moondance" Was Listed As #226 On The Rolling Stone Magazine's 2004 Feature The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. It Is Also One Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. It Was Listed As No. 19 On The All Time 885 Greatest Songs Compiled In 2004 By WXPN From Listener's Votes.