The Early Years Of Van Morrison, In To The Mystic

By James Morrison

George Ivan Morrison was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland as the solitary child of Violet Morrison and George Morrison, a steel worker. Morrison's father had a very large record collection and Van grew up listening to blues artists.

A critically acclaimed singer and songwriter he is renowned for being stubborn, and often gives astounding live performances. The studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are frequently rated as being some of the best albums ever made.

Fortuitously, his father bought him an acoustic guitar for his eleventh birthday, and he rapidly learned some basic chords from a guitar book. Van Morrison started performing in the late 1950s playing the harmonica, guitar, keyboards, and saxophone in a range of Irish bands covering popular hits of the day.

His first band "The Sputniks" in 1958 was named after the Russian and shortly after forming, they began to perform in intimate locations with Morrison on bluesy rich vocals and taking care of the arrangements.

Morrison left school in 1960 with no qualifications. As a member of a working-class community, it was expected that he would get a regular full-time job, 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". 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 Sproule whom he later named as one of his biggest influences.

He toured Europe for the first time with the International Monarchs at seventeen, with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harmonica, and bass and drums as required, touring clubs and Army bases in Scotland, England, and Germany, often playing five sets a night. The band cut a single, which was Morrison's first recording at Ariola Studios in Cologne. He played saxophone and it just crept in to the German charts.

In the mid-1960s he was the lead singer with Them and recorded the classic "Gloria", one of the favorites in his sets. When he returned to Belfast the group disbanded and he began his solo career.

Under the tutelage of pop impresario Bert Berns, he released the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. Warner Brothers bought out his contract shortly after his manager had died. In several sessions he recorded Astral Weeks in 1968 which was critically acclaimed, but sales were initially poor. It has now grown to become an all-time classic. The album and title tune Moondance, established him as a major recording artist, and throughout the 1970s he built his reputation. Van Morrison continues to tour, record and collaborate with other artists, producing albums and live performances that are well received. In 2008 and in to 2009 he continues to perform Astral Weeks live always leaving the crowd wanting more.

Morrison has received much acclaim including six Grammy Awards, being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appearing on several "Greatest Artists" lists. - 18780

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There is some great information about the latest van morrison tour dates available at the official Van Morrison concerts site. Extensive news and official reviews are also available here.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Blues

By Tom Simpson

People often say that music is their life. A lot of times, such statement can be true. Music has given colour and delight to every generation there was, the present generation and even to the next ones. It has simply been there during the best of times; whooping it up and letting everyone party till dawn to its rhythm and sounds. Blues has been part of great black American history. It has definitely been there during the saddest and the most unpleasant of days; its lyrics touching the heart and the soul, soothing or worsening the pain. It has beyond doubt made a mark in its every genre. Blues backing tracks is reliving one of the most celebrated genres in the music scene, as the name implies, it is somehow giving life to blues again.

ration relive and rediscover this music. The blues was born at a time of slavery. During the centuries old black slavery that was prevalent in Southern United States, the blacks expressed their sentiments and the irrepressible longing for freedom by singing the blues. At the time when the black people were considered slaves and less human, the blues magnified their humanity and their aspirations loaded with conflicting emotions. Today when we hear of blues backing licks it's as if those memories come alive again to haunt us. Anyone serious about learning the blues should be able to download blues backing licks and learn the emotion and the expression only an individual artist playing from his soul can provide.

Before the next generations slowly forget the importance of the blues to music, we have to give every budding musician blues guitar lessons much like history lessons in the classroom. It is good that with the advent of the internet and the availability of blues tutorials, we can be more or less sure that the blues will always be here to stay. What is great is that the internet can provide a complete sensation of playing the blues. We can easily Google famous blues artists and even watch them actually play. We can research and hear their melodies and we can access a variety of blues songs from the fast tempo to the very slow ones. What is more, we can actually start from the basics of blues then evolve a new genre that effectively combines blues music to the modern ones.

The websites also offer another one of its famous deals; a blues guitar lesson. This service is open to anyone who wants to learn more about not only playing the guitar, but playing it well with his own uniqueness. It is almost similar to being taught by the masters of blues such as Eric Clapton, BB King and Albert King. What is even more exciting is the fact that the website offers ten blues licks for every download. Further, the site gives information on how anyone can avail of a ten-week guitar free course and the entire catalogue of the best blues. Apart from these, the website keeps its online viewers posted on the latest available blues lessons online.

Learning to play the guitar is never easy. But with blues backing tracks, learning is made simple with an innovative approach. With blues backing tracks, the guitar enthusiasts will always remember to play with the desire of his heart. This is online tutorial and online music experience made for those you wants fun and great advantage from blues music. - 18780

About the Author:

UltimateBluesBackingTracks.com is dedicated to improve your blues playing. With an accompanying blues backing tracksto follow, students can now practice at home, at their own pace without being embarrassed by their mistakes. So unveil the musician in you!!!

History of Beyonces Career

By Amy Nutt

Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born September 4th, 1981 in Houston, Texas to Matthew and Tina Knowles as the first born of two girls. Before she reached the age of seven she was singing and showing signs of great talent. When she was seven, she was already attending dance school and was a soloist in the church choir.

By the time she reached her teen years, any spare time she could find was spent with her childhood pals, LaTayia Roberson, Kelly Rowland and LeToya Luckett, performing at local functions. The girls, then known as "Girls Tyme" tried their luck at Star Search but did not make the cut. Beyonces Dad gave up his good paying job in order to devote his time promoting the band. To this day Matthew Knowles manages his daughters career.

After trying a few different names, the girls settled on Destinys Child. The musical debut for the group was the song "Killing Time", which appeared on the soundtrack for the "Men in Black" movie, released in 1997. A year later, they had number one single with the song, "No,No,No, Part 2." The quartet became a trio later on that same year with the departure of LeToya and LaTayia, who decided to pursue individual careers. Destinys Child continued onwards and became one of the top R&B/Pop groups in 2000 accumulating four Billboard Hot 100 number one singles and numerous top ten hits, as well as two albums that went to number one.

The groups second album continued with great success with tracks like "Say My Name," "Jumpin Jumpin," and the very successful "Bug A Boo." In the 2001, two Grammy awards were given to "Say My Name". They followed up with a third album, "Survivor," which produced such hits as the title track as well as "Bootylicious". The group decided to disband by 2005 but had at that time proven themselves as one of the top selling female groups in music history.

Beyonce had proven her worth and skills as a songwriter. She won the 2001 Songwriter of the Year, awarded by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards. This made her the first African-American woman to win the award and only the second woman to win. She also spent a bit of time working on solo projects which at first was not as successful as the projects with the trio, but she was not easily discouraged.

When she finally released her solo debut album, "Dangerously in Love", it went right to the top selling over 300,000 copies in just the first week and went platinum 3 weeks later, in June of 2003. The single from the album,"Crazy in Love" topped the charts and stayed there for over 8 weeks. Later that same year her album and the single topped the charts at the same time which put her on the same level as such musical wonders as The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Rod Stewart. She was and still is the only female artist to have accomplished this feat. This helped make Beyonce one of the biggest artists in both sales and popularity for 2003.

In 2004 she won five Grammy Awards. On the Destinys Child album released in 2005, Beyonce released a song called "Check on It," which was used on the soundtrack of "The Pink Panther Movie," released in 2006.

In correspondence with her 25th birthday, she released a second album called "Bday," which sold more than her first solo album, with 541,000 copies sold in the first week after release. The lead single from the album, "Dj Vu," became a number one hit on the US R&B charts.

Not only has Beyonce had success in music, but also on the movie screen. She may be best known for the character Foxy Cleopatra in the 2002 summer movie, "Austin Powers in Goldmember" along side Michael Caine and Mike Myers. In 2003 she appeared beside Cuba Gooding Jr. in the movie "The Fighting Temptations". In 2006, she got chance to pay homage to Diana Ross in a movie based on a Broadway musical depicting the lives of the Supremes. Beyonce showed off her incredible acting skills, playing the part of Ms. Ross in the Movie titled, "Dreamgirls", which opened with first weekend sales of $8 million and has grossed well over $100 million to date.

Beyonces talent has shown no end in sight and her fans are looking forward to see what is yet to come. - 18780

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Offering the most comprehensive selection of high quality music videos of all your favorite artists including 50 cent, Beyonce, Lil Wayne and many more!

Kicking The Old School With Blues Guitar Licks

By Tom Simpson

Looking to learn to play the best licks on guitar? Well, there's nothing better than the blues. The blues guitar is the great grandfather to all the musical genres that are worth a listen: from rock, rhythm & blues, hip hop, soul, funk, jazz, and even heavy metal. All these genres owe a great big shout out to granddaddy blues. Learning the blues is not so easy. More than just great guitar playing, it's looking into you deep -deep enough to find something worth playing the blues for. It's turning that misery into great blues licks.

All the great blues singers and guitarists, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, everyone, put their heart into their music. That's how they played. They did it as more emotional than technical act by letting the blues slip out and speak for it. Every performance they gave was frighteningly sincere and honest. But before all that, you'll need to get down to the basics. If you graduate from the basics then maybe you can start playing real blues. Needless to say, if you're not already a pro (and even if you are), getting professional help will go far in learning to play the best sound that can come out of a guitar -the classic blues.

Sure it would be real awesome if you could just teach yourself how to play. But not everyone's cut out for that. Even the best professionals in the business are not all self-taught.

Blues is today considered the music of intellectuals. Unknown to most, blues takes roots in recounting worker's tales. It's a perpetually raised fist against slavery. An echo of protest in another lost era of the last century. It is almost too awesome. The aspiring blues poet !Blues guitar licks are not easily mastered. All the greats: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, not one of them perfected the blues overnight. Ask any professional and they all say the same thing. To give justice to playing the blues you need to keep in mind 3 things:

Play in front of your friends and ask them if you've improved. If they say no, then take that as a signal to practice more. If they say yes, then take that as encouragement. Either way, it's good for your guitar playing.

They say to play the blues; you'll just need 3 really important things besides a guitar: First, you got to have a bit of technique. Second, you need a lot of soul, soul, soul. Lastly, practice endless blues guitar licks to last you two lifetimes. It's all about improvisation and confidence. Keep these simple steps in mind and you'll be shredding with the best of them in no time. - 18780

About the Author:

UltimateBluesBackingTracks.com is dedicated to improve your blues playing. With an accompanying blues backing tracksto follow, students can now practice at home, at their own pace without being embarrassed by their mistakes. So unveil the musician in you!!!

What Everybody Ought to Know About Blues

By Tom Simpson

People often say that music is their life. A lot of times, such statement can be true. Music has given colour and delight to every generation there was, the present generation and even to the next ones. It has simply been there during the best of times; whooping it up and letting everyone party till dawn to its rhythm and sounds. Blues has been part of great black American history. It has definitely been there during the saddest and the most unpleasant of days; its lyrics touching the heart and the soul, soothing or worsening the pain. It has beyond doubt made a mark in its every genre. Blues backing tracks is reliving one of the most celebrated genres in the music scene, as the name implies, it is somehow giving life to blues again.

ration relive and rediscover this music. The blues was born at a time of slavery. During the centuries old black slavery that was prevalent in Southern United States, the blacks expressed their sentiments and the irrepressible longing for freedom by singing the blues. At the time when the black people were considered slaves and less human, the blues magnified their humanity and their aspirations loaded with conflicting emotions. Today when we hear of blues backing licks it's as if those memories come alive again to haunt us. Anyone serious about learning the blues should be able to download blues backing licks and learn the emotion and the expression only an individual artist playing from his soul can provide.

Blues guitar lessons aims to be the best guitar tutorial available in the internet. Its website alone is the proof of such goal. It offers almost everything that a guitar enthusiast needs and wants. Its website also gives exciting short demonstrations. It also features a guitar melody being played on a slow tempo and fast tempo. The guitarists are guaranteed to further improve not only their playing abilities but their styles and tastes in playing the guitar, as well. The website is simply a place where guitar enthusiasts can learn new things in their craft and learning from those who have already mastered it.

The websites also offer another one of its famous deals; a blues guitar lesson. This service is open to anyone who wants to learn more about not only playing the guitar, but playing it well with his own uniqueness. It is almost similar to being taught by the masters of blues such as Eric Clapton, BB King and Albert King. What is even more exciting is the fact that the website offers ten blues licks for every download. Further, the site gives information on how anyone can avail of a ten-week guitar free course and the entire catalogue of the best blues. Apart from these, the website keeps its online viewers posted on the latest available blues lessons online.

We will observe that different masters have a quality uniquely their own. This is because the skill and technique in playing the blues are all generic but the way of really playing it from the soul is uniquely one's own. - 18780

About the Author:

UltimateBluesBackingTracks.com is dedicated to improve your blues playing. With an accompanying blues backing tracksto follow, students can now practice at home, at their own pace without being embarrassed by their mistakes. So unveil the musician in you!!!