Van the Man Turns 70 Soon

Van Morrison will turn 70 on August 31st.  Ireland radio is going nuts with a week's worth of special programming and there is also a plan to air a "live" concert on his birthday.  What a remarkable career. Blues, jazz, pop, Irish music, country... this list goes on.  I've been listening to Van since 1992.  How do I know this? Because I met a guy, and you know how it is, you start talking and getting to know one another. You ask simple questions. Where did you go to school?  What kind of music do you listen to? And there it was. Van Morrison.  Okay, I said, who else do you listen to really?  Just Van Morrison.

I remember thinking the guy was strange. All I could  name was Brown Eyed Girl  and Domino.  

And then he made me a cassette tape. You know the kind. If you are a certain age, you remember.  A cassette tape of your favorite songs all put together. He put some songs from one album, some music off another. I was hooked.  A lot of stuff from Hymns to the Silence. 

Here I am so many years later, and I'm still hooked.  I have drawers full of CD's with bootlegged concerts that were traded back and forth.  Then there are VCR tapes I'll never watch again that were second and third generation recordings of bits of Van on various shows. Now they are all on YouTube.

I even have a CD of  Fans playing the music of Van Morrison from all over the world.  ( I'm on there, too singing with my guitar.  At this point I don't even remember what song, because I recorded so many in my little studio in my old apartment.)  It gave me joy to work out the chords and play some of my favorites. 

Happy Birthday Van. Thanks for all the music.