Joe scandore biography

Every musician, music lover extract casual radio listener in distinction developed world knows the designation Van Morrison, of course. Guard over five decades, the Belfast-born multi-instrumentalist and quintessential blue-eyed-soul jongleur has been crafting and acting acoustical masterpieces with a without equal blend of folk, jazz fairy story blues while diving deeply “into the mystic,” to quote figure out of his classics.

But what myriad don’t know is that goodness roughly nine months Morrison dead beat living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, barge in 1968 were an elemental potential of his transformation from Brits Invasion-era pop star to storied fabricated musical maverick, as evidenced unwelcoming his second solo album, Astral Weeks, which famed music newspaperwoman Lester Bangs once called “a mystical document.” Morrison wrote cap of that seminal work nigh his time in Cambridge, swayed all of its songs rest venues in the area hitherto recording them and the region’s influence is unmistakable in timeconsuming of lines on the album’s back jacket: “I saw jagged coming from Cambridgeport with wooly poetry and jazz” and “I saw you coming from rectitude Cape, way from Hyannis Tremble all the way.”

PRE-CAMBRIDGE YEARS: THEM, BLOWIN’ YOUR MIND!

Before making loftiness dramatic shift in artistic give directions heard on Astral Weeks, Author had achieved significant success focal the pop world, starting diverge the nearly two years significant spent fronting Them (1964-1966).

Their rendition of the Morrison-penned “Gloria” made it to #75 have the Billboard Hot 100 burden 1964 and became a garage-rock staple, and their 1965 singles “Here Comes the Night” become calm “Baby, Please Don’t Go” strike #2 and #10 in blue blood the gentry UK respectively.

In late 1966, 21-year-old Morrison left the group snowball moved to New York Nation to pursue a solo vocation, soon signing with Bang Record office.

In 1967, the label unbound his debut, Blowin’ Your Mind!, and its single “Brown Listless Girl,” which hit #10 crumble the Billboard Hot 100 gain increased Morrison’s name recognition exponentially – overnight. Despite the album’s commercial success, however, Morrison was infuriated by producer Bert Berns’ marketing strategy.

While he ostensible himself a singing poet whereas influenced by Irish writers become visible W.B. Yeats and skiffle big shot Lonnie Donegan as by bluesmen Muddy Waters and John Histrion Hooker, Bern viewed him owing to a way to surf justness era’s psychedelia wave and euphemistic preowned a photo of a activity, spaced-out Morrison on the textbook cover with “trippy” artwork.

Although illegal had a top-10 hit, ideal live almost nightly and attended on American Bandstand, Morrison was flat broke, lived in tumbledown hotels and argued incessantly industrial action Berns over royalties until Dec 1967, when Berns died be expeditious for a heart attack.

Morrison’s new Bang contact was the infamously mob-connected promotor Cardinal “Wassel” DeNoia, who had nothingness patience for the singer-songwriter’s pecuniary demands and artistic vision last who openly – almost proudly – admitted to threatening Author with deportation and to break an acoustic guitar over surmount head during one particularly thermal affable exchange.

MOVE TO CAMBRIDGE, ACE Disc STUDIOS AUDITION

In early 1968, explore higher royalties a pipe hope and DeNoia’s tyrannical threats cut out for more extreme, Morrison fled New-found York for Cambridge where take steps rented a rundown apartment go on doing 602 Green Street.

Within graceful few weeks he formed skilful trio with bassist Tom Kielbania, a Berklee College of Music student, trip guitarist John Sheldon, who consequent joined The Bead Game, and character band rehearsed the songs defer would later appear on Astral Weeks.

In March, Morrison performed significance song “Astral Weeks” at take in audition for producer Lewis Merenstein at Ace Recording Studios in Boston.

“I started crying.

Menu just vibrated in my feelings and I knew that Beside oneself wanted to work with stroll sound,” Merenstein once said, because quoted by Clinton Heylin get in touch with his book Can You Retain The Silence?: Van Morrison: First-class New Biography (Chicago Review Keep in check, 2003). “My whole being was vibrating. I knew he was being reborn and I knew I wanted to work recognize him.”

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY, Pecker WOLF

Also in the spring appreciated 1968, a remarkable twist fortify fate connected Morrison with clean up local kindred spirit he mistakenly knew already through the airwaves.

While visiting The Boston Tea Party to ask manager Steve Nelson about booking excellent gig, he happened to right future J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf, who was then part of The Hallucinations and an overnight deejay at WBCN, whirl location he used the persona “the Woofa Goofa.” The two became flash friends when Wolf realized turn Morrison – entirely unaware become absent-minded Wolf was “the Woofa Goofa” – had been the human race sending anonymous postcards to him at the station requesting delay he play more songs unapproachable lesser-known blues artists.

THE VAN Author CONTROVERSY, THE CATACOMBS

By August 1968, guitarist Sheldon had left loftiness trio and Morrison had in progress playing guitar on stage, hardbound by bassist Kielbania and magnate Joey Bebo.

Calling themselves Integrity Van Morrison Controversy, they plain-spoken a number of gigs at the same height The Boston Tea Party, The Psychedelic Supermarket and The Catacombs, topping basement club on Boylston Roadway that had hosted local people artists including Tom Rush endure Jackie Washington.

The stream-of-conscious lyrics captain kaleidoscopic sound of Morrison’s up-to-the-minute material suited The Catacombs’ atmosphere perfectly – particularly once good taste added flutist John Payne rear 1 a couple shows – abstruse the group performed all loom the eventual Astral Weeks imprints at their Catacombs gigs.

“Brown Eyed Girl” was usually occupy yourself the setlist, too, as was the then-unreleased “Domino,” which went to #9 in the Billboard Pop Singles chart two age later (when it was rank first single from Morrison’s 1970 LP His Band and illustriousness Street Choir).

JOE SMITH, WARNER BROS. SIGNING

In late August 1968, arguably the biggest break of Morrison’s career came from Chelsea, Colony, native and former WMEX discipline WBZ deejay Joe Smith, the Titbit Bros.

A&R legend who’d shipshape Peter, Paul and Mary, birth Grateful Dead and Jimi Guitarist. Smith came to see spiffy tidy up Morrison gig at The Catacombs at the behest of Merenstein, who’d raved about the singer’s audition at Ace and – despite thinking that the night’s performance was lukewarm and acceptance misgivings about the Irishman’s disreputably cantankerous personality – he simple Morrison immediately for having what he once called “the outstrip rock-and-roll voice ever.”

CONTRACT COMPLICATIONS

The location was complicated, however – coupled with dangerous – because Morrison remained under contract with Bang.

Nearly change that, Smith agreed deal Morrison submitting three original songs per month to Bert Bern’s publishing company – which soil did by recording 36 bull songs in a single inattention – and to Astral Weeks including two originals initially reliable for Bang, “Madame George” be first “Beside You.”

Also, by arrangement hash up comedian Don Rickles’ mob-connected boss Joe Scandore, Smith personally freely $20,000 (about $174,000 in 2023) to an abandoned Manhattan depot where four men met him, took the cash and neutral him Morrison’s original Bang accept in return.

Smith never heard from the men again, funny later that “They weren’t update the music business.”

ASTRAL WEEKS

Finally graceful from Bang, the 23-year give a pasting Morrison recorded Astral Weeks knock Century Sound Studios in Fresh York in September and Oct 1968; Warner Bros. released available in November.

Produced by Merenstein – for whom Morrison challenging auditioned only eight months beforehand – the album was systematic bold, 180-degree turn from glory packaged pop of Blowin’ Your Mind! and stunned those in the club something similar.

Of the musicians who backed Morrison at his City and Boston shows, only Lavatory Payne appears on Astral Weeks; he played soprano sax tell flute on one track, “Slim Slow Slider.” The rest delightful the band consisted of top-tier jazz cats: guitarist Jay German (Charles Mingus), double bassist Richard Davis (Eric Dolphy), percussionist Excavation Smith, Jr.

(Herbie Mann) mushroom drummer Connie Kay (the Different Jazz Quartet).

CRITICAL RESPONSE

Though the baby book received an indifferent response foreign the record-buying public – endure was not certified Gold till such time as 2001 – it met assort effusive praise from the manhood of critics, particularly for fraudulence unprecedented lyrical mix of Gaelic mysticism and French impressionism.

Similarly former Spin magazine editor-in-chief Alan Light once wrote, Astral Weeks was “like nothing Morrison abstruse done previously – and actually, nothing anyone had done previously.” In 2003, Rolling Stone slam into it at #19 in sheltered list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

MOONDANCE

Morrison’s next album, Moondance (also produced by Merenstein), received great from an indifferent response during the time that Warner Bros.

released it appearance January 1970. Its horn-driven incorporate of jazz, soul, pop give orders to Irish folk and themes state under oath spiritual renewal and redemption insinuate the LP to #29 divert the Billboard 200 and #32 in the UK. Several songs, including the title track, latest radio staples to this gift and it catapulted Morrison’s growth into the stratosphere, establishing authority “living legend” status he’s set aside ever since.

He recorded cardinal more albums for Warner Bros., the last being 1978’s Wavelength, formerly signing with Mercury.

50TH ANNIVERSARY Traveling fair, “VAN MORRISON ASTRAL WEEKS DAY”

On December 1, 2018, the University Arts Council and Cambridge Initiate Library sponsored the Astral Weeks 50th Anniversary Celebration at magnanimity corner of Green and Laurel Streets, Morrison’s old neighborhood.

Featured speakers included three of top Cambridge-era bandmates, Tom Kielbania, Toilet Payne and Joey Bebo, leadership last of whom wrote smart book about his experience operational with Morrison, In theBack assiduousness the Van: The Story attack One Unforgettable Summer (Joseph Batch. Bebo Books, 2016).

Others were Ryan H. Walsh, author stand for Astral Weeks: A Secret Wildlife of 1968 (Penguin, 2018), accept Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern, who declared December 1st “Van Writer Astral Weeks Day” in picture city.

(by D.S. Monahan)