Van Morrison—aka George Ivan Morrison of Belfast, Northern Ireland—has had a long and varied career that began in the mid 60s. After recording a string of massive hit singles like “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance,” and “Caravan,” he released “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile),” a veiled tribute to the influential soul artist of that name. Though he recorded it more than 43 years ago, “Jackie Wilson Said” is still a paragon of Van Morrison’s best work, from the uplifting and bluesy vocals to the swinging horns.
Song of the Day: “Jackie Wilson Said”
Max Gray
Read more of Max Gray at Big City Sasquatch or follow him on Twitter @City_Sasquatch. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Encounters, Mount Hope, Conte, tNY.press, and English Kills Review. He co-hosts the etymology podcast Words For Dinner and is a graduate of the Rutgers-Newark MFA program.