Van Morrison

One of the most expressive, instantly recognizable voices ever to emerge from Ireland, Van Morrison has spent over half a century internalizing his deep ardor for and understanding of American soul and R&B, jazz, and country, to say nothing of his Irish folk roots, forming a hybrid popularized as “Celtic soul.” He was born in Belfast in 1945; by age 12 he was playing in a skiffle band.

He first tasted success fronting the short-lived Irish R&B-driven garage-rock band Them, scoring a minor hit with “Here Comes the Night” and recording the future rock anthem “Gloria.” But Morrison established his voice as a solo artist in 1967, cutting one of his most indelible songs, “Brown Eyed Girl.” Following a contract dispute with Bang Records that silenced him for a year, he launched a relationship with Warner Bros., which released the 1968 album Astral Weeks.

This emotionally dark, paradigm-setting collection, made with jazz veterans such as Richard Davis and Connie Kay, introduced the sort of elastic arrangements that would allow the singer to use his full-bodied voice to alter the rhythms of his phrasing, stretching syllables like putty and rendering every performance unique.