Editing Van Morrison (section)

===Early life and musical roots: 1945–1964===
George Ivan Morrison was born on 31 August 1945,<ref>{{AllMusic|tab=biography|title=Van Morrison biography}}</ref> at 125 [[Hyndford Street]], [[Bloomfield, Belfast]], Northern Ireland,<ref name="nosurrender">{{cite book |title=Van Morrison: No Surrender |last=Rogan |first=Johnny |authorlink=Johnny Rogan |year= 2006 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Van_Morrison/BGaqpDx31s4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Van+Morrison:+No+Surrender+born+%2231+August%22&pg=PA15&printsec=frontcover |location=London |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-0-09-943183-1 |page=15}}</ref> as the only child of George Morrison, a [[shipyard]] electrician, and Violet Morrison (née Stitt), who had been a singer and [[tap dance]]r in her youth. The previous occupant of the house was the writer [[Lee Child]]'s father.<ref name="Van the Man">{{cite news|date=22 September 2007|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/its-van-the-mam-13478426.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025223/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/its-van-the-mam-13478426.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2012|first=Claire|last=McNeilly|title=It's Van: The Mam|newspaper=[[The Belfast Telegraph]]|access-date=26 September 2007}}</ref> Morrison's family were working class [[Ulster Protestants|Protestants]] descended from the [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] population that settled in Belfast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16537 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901033338/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16537 |url-status=dead |archive-date= 1 September 2009|website=Allaboutjazz.com|title=Van Morrison at All About Jazz|access-date=12 December 2009}}</ref><ref name="HintonPage18">Hinton (1997), page 18.</ref><ref name="HeylinPage4">Heylin (2003), p. 4.</ref> From 1950 to 1956, Morrison, who began to be known as "Van" during this time, attended [[Elmgrove Primary School]].<ref name="TurnerPage20">Turner (1993), p. 20.</ref> His father had what was at the time one of the largest record collections in Northern Ireland (acquired during his time in Detroit, Michigan, in the early 1950s)<ref name="HintonPage19">Hinton (1997), p. 19.</ref> and the young Morrison grew up listening to artists such as [[Jelly Roll Morton]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Lead Belly]], [[Sonny Terry]] and [[Brownie McGhee]] and [[Solomon Burke]];<ref name="TurnerPage20" /><ref name="HintonPage20">Hinton (1997), p. 20.</ref> of whom he later said, "If it weren't for guys like Ray and Solomon, I wouldn't be where I am today. Those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do what I'm doing now."<ref name="Renaissance Van">{{cite magazine|date=2 June 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618182003/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/7371946/renaissance_van|archive-date=18 June 2008|title=Renaissance Van|first=David|last=Wild|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=30 April 2010|url-status=dead|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/7371946/renaissance_van}}</ref>

His father's record collection exposed him to various musical genres, such as the [[blues]] of [[Muddy Waters]]; the [[Gospel music|gospel]] of [[Mahalia Jackson]]; the [[jazz]] of [[Charlie Parker]]; the [[folk music]] of [[Woody Guthrie]]; and [[country music]] from [[Hank Williams]] and [[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]],<ref name="TurnerPage20" /> while the first record he ever bought was by blues musician [[Sonny Terry]].<ref name="Listening Party">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/03/09/090309ta_talk_greenman|title=Listening Party|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Ben|last=Greenman|date=9 March 2009|access-date=18 May 2010}}</ref> When [[Lonnie Donegan]] had a hit with "[[Rock Island Line (song)|Rock Island Line]]", written by Huddie Ledbetter ([[Lead Belly]]), Morrison felt he was familiar with and able to connect with [[skiffle]] music as he had been hearing Lead Belly before that.<ref name="CollisPage 33">Collis (1996), page 33.</ref><ref name="Van Morrison – salon.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison/index.html|title=Van Morrison|website=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|first=Sean|last=Elder|date=19 September 2000|access-date=18 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130053259/http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison/index.html|archive-date=30 January 2011}}</ref>

Morrison's father bought him his first acoustic guitar when he was 11, and he learned to play rudimentary [[chord (music)|chords]] from the song book ''The [[Carter Family]] Style'', edited by [[Alan Lomax]].<ref name="TurnerPage25">Turner (1993), p. 25.</ref> In 1957, at the age of twelve, Morrison formed his first band,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=d25c7b6a-7ddb-4540-84db-9dc6cd09f632|title=Van Morrison: The Irascible Mystic|website=2.canada.com|access-date=18 May 2010|date=30 June 2007|last=Perusse|first=Bernard|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905142831/http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=d25c7b6a-7ddb-4540-84db-9dc6cd09f632|archive-date=5 September 2012}}</ref> a skiffle group, "The Sputniks", named after the satellite, [[Sputnik 1]], that had been launched in October of that year by the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="HintonPage22">Hinton (1997), page 22.</ref> In 1958, the band played at some of the local cinemas, and Morrison took the lead, contributing most of the singing and arranging. Other short-lived groups followed – at 14, he formed Midnight Special, another modified skiffle band, and played at a school concert.<ref name="TurnerPage25" /> Then, when he heard [[Jimmy Giuffre]] playing saxophone on "The Train and The River", he talked his father into buying him a [[tenor saxophone]],<ref name="HeylinPage34">Heylin (2003), page 34.</ref> and took saxophone and music reading lessons from jazz musician [[George Cassidy (jazz musician)|George Cassidy]], who Morrison saw as a "big inspiration", and they became friends, he also grew up with him on Hyndford Street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 2020 |title=Van Morrison on his musical memories and what he sings when he's washing his hands |language=en-GB |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/van-morrison-on-his-musical-memories-and-what-he-sings-when-hes-washing-his-hands/39092301.html |access-date=7 November 2023 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name="TurnerPage26">Turner (1993), page 26.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogan |first=Johnny |title=Van Morrison : no surrender |publisher=Secker & Warburg |year=2005 |isbn=9780436205668 |location=London |language=English}}</ref> Now playing the saxophone, Morrison joined with various local bands, including one called Deanie Sands and the Javelins, with whom he played guitar and shared singing. The line-up of the band was lead vocalist Deanie Sands, guitarist [[George Jones (radio presenter)|George Jones]], and drummer and vocalist Roy Kane.<ref name="Rolling Stone Interview">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14639/80271|last=Grissim|first=John Jr.|title=Van Morrison: The Rolling Stone Interview|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=22 June 1972|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210031156/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14639/80271|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later the four main musicians of the Javelins, with the addition of Wesley Black as pianist, became known as the Monarchs.<ref name="TurnerPage28">Turner (1993), page 28.</ref>

Morrison attended [[Orangefield High School|Orangefield Boys Secondary School]], leaving in July 1960 with no qualifications.<ref name="O'Hagan">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/02/vanmorrison-popandrock|title=Is this the best album ever made?|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 November 2008|access-date=18 May 2010|last=O'Hagan|first=Sean}}</ref> As a member of a working-class community, he was expected to get a regular full-time job,<ref name="TurnerPage28" /> so after several short apprenticeship positions, he settled into a job as a [[window cleaner]]—later alluded to in his songs "[[Cleaning Windows]]" and "[[Saint Dominic's Preview (song)|Saint Dominic's Preview]]".<ref>Rogan (2006), page 48.</ref> However, he had been developing his musical interests from an early age and continued playing with the Monarchs part-time. Young Morrison also played with the Harry Mack Showband, the Great Eight, with his older workplace friend, Geordie (G. D.) Sproule, whom he later named as one of his biggest influences.<ref name="RoganPage43-44">Rogan (2006), pages 43–48.</ref>

At age 17, Morrison toured Europe for the first time with the Monarchs, now calling themselves the International Monarchs. This [[Irish showband]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm|title=1963|website=Geocities.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028141151/http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 October 2009}}{{Cite web |url=http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm |title=1963 |access-date=20 October 2011 |archive-date=28 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028141151/http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harmonica, in addition to back-up duty on bass and drums, toured seamy clubs and US Army bases in Scotland, England and Germany, often playing five sets a night.<ref name="Rolling Stone Interview" /> While in Germany, the band recorded a single, "Boozoo Hully Gully"/"Twingy Baby", under the name Georgie and the Monarchs. This was Morrison's first recording, taking place in November 1963 at [[Ariola]] Studios in [[Cologne]] with Morrison on saxophone; it made the lower reaches of the German charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html|title=Van Morrison with The Monarchs / Them Chronology 1947/8-1969|website=Geocities.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028031225/http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 October 2009}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html |title=Van Morrison with the Monarchs / Them Chronology 1947/8-1969 |access-date=21 April 2009 |archive-date=28 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028031225/http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iangallagher.com/monarchsvanmorrison.html|title=monarchsvanmorrison|website=Iangallagher.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-date=19 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119235418/http://www.iangallagher.com/monarchsvanmorrison.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Upon returning to Belfast in November 1963, the group disbanded,<ref name="TurnerPage33-38">Turner (1993), pp. 33–38.</ref> so Morrison connected with Geordie Sproule again and played with him in the Manhattan Showband along with guitarist [[Herbie Armstrong]]. When Armstrong auditioned to play with Brian Rossi and the Golden Eagles, later known as [[the Wheels]], Morrison went along and was hired as a blues singer.<ref>Rogan (2006), p. 78.</ref><ref>Hodgett, Trevor. "Wheel Away the Years. ''Shindig!'' No. 27. Volcano Publishing, p. 51.</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Bishop|date=27 August 2010|url=http://www.garagehangover.com/wheels/|title=The Wheels (The Wheel-a-Ways) – Garage Hangover|access-date=30 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530082010/http://www.garagehangover.com/wheels/|archive-date=30 May 2015}}</ref>