Van Morrison

Van Morrison was once married to Janet Rigsbee. The couple had a daughter, Shana Morrison, before divorcing in 1973.

He met Irish socialite Michelle Rocca in the early 1990s. They got married and had two children. The couple divorced in 2018.

In 2009, Morrison's tour manager Gigi Lee gave birth to a son and claimed that the baby’s father was Morrison. The baby died of an illness in 2011.

George Ivan “Van” Morrison was born on 31 August 1945 in Bloomfield, Belfast, Northern Ireland as the only child of his parents. His mother Violet Stitt Morrison had been a singer and dancer in her youth while his father George Morrison was a shipyard electrician.

From 1950 to 1956, Morrison attended Elmgrove Primary School. At that time, his father had one of the largest record collections and Morrison grew up listening to various music legends.

His father's collection also exposed him to numerous musical genres, such as the gospel of Mahalia Jackson; the blues of Muddy Waters; the jazz of Charlie Parker; the country music of Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers; and the folk music of Woody Guthrie.

At the age of 11, Morrison started playing the guitar. A year later, he formed his first ever band called "The Sputniks" that played at a number of local cinemas before disbanding.

After this, he formed another skiffle band Midnight Special and played at school concerts. After learning saxophone, he joined the band the Javelins along with lead vocalist Deanie Sands, drummer and vocalist Roy Kane, and guitarist George Jones. Later, these four main musicians of the Javelins, with the recruitment of pianist Wesley Black, became known as the Monarchs.

Van Morrison continued playing with the Monarchs. At the age of 17, he toured Europe for the first time with the band. While in Germany, the band recorded their single, "Boozoo Hully Gully"/"Twingy Baby" under the name of Georgie and the Monarchs.

In November 1963, the group disbanded and Morrison went on to play with Geordie Sproule and guitarist Herbie Armstrong in the Manhattan Showband. When Armstrong auditioned to play with the Golden Eagles and Brian Rossi, later known as the Wheels, Morrison also went along and was hired as a blues singer.

He eventually left the Golden Eagles to play with a new R&B club band along with Billy Harrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Millings and Eric Wrixon. This band, named ‘Them,’ went on to create numerous covers.

The band then signed a deal with Dick Rowe of Decca Records. In the mid-1960s, they released two studio albums and ten singles including the hits "Here Comes the Night", "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Mystic Eyes".

In 1966, Them undertook a two-month tour to the USA. After performing in Ireland, they disbanded and Morrison then began concentrating on writing songs.

In 1970, Van Morrison released his third solo album titled ‘Moondance’ that became his first album to sell over a million copies. It went on to peak at #29 on the US Billboard Albums chart. The album featured positive and cheerful music which was liked by the audience. Its track "Into the Mystic" also became a huge hit.

In 1978, the Irish singer released his album ‘Wavelength’ that soon went gold and became one of the fastest-selling albums of that time. Its opening single "Kingdom Hall" evoked his childhood experiences of religion and spirituality with his mother.