Artist Of The Week: Van Morrison

Every week, WERS picks one artist to highlight as our Artist of The Week, and this week we have chosen the Belfast, Northern Ireland-born singer-songwriter, Van Morrison. Morrison will be releasing his 34^th studio record, Born To Sing: No Plan B, on October 2^nd.

Morrison got his musical start when he joined the band Them. Them had several hit songs including “Baby, Please Don’t Go”, “Here Comes The Night” and “Mystic Eyes”. They also became known for the b-side “Gloria”, which has been covered by Patti Smith, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and more. Them split up in 1967 and Morrison started working on music for his solo career.

His first solo record, Blowin’ Your Mind!, was released in 1967 and featured the hit song “Brown Eyed Girl”. The following year Morrison released what is considered by many to be the best album of all time, Astral Weeks. Following this Morrison released a string of successful albums including 1970’s Moondance, 1971’s Tupelo Honey and 1978’s Wavelength.

Flash forward to 2012 and Morrison is back with a brand new record, Born To Sing: No Plan B, which features the new single “Open The Door (To Your Heart)”. The entire record was recorded in Van’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland and features a six piece band. One theme the album deals with is the current worldwide financial crisis.

Do you love Van Morrison? Want a chance to see him live in concert in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland? Well today, September 10th, WERS has your chance! Pledge your support to WERS by calling us now at 617-824-8700 and you will be automatically entered to win a trip to Belfast to see Van Morrison live in concert, thanks to a generous gift from Tourism Ireland, Exile Productions Limited and Blue Note Records. More information can be found here.

By Mariel Wade

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