The first time I saw and heard Van Morrison was on November 4, 1978, on Saturday Night Live. I was 11 and didn’t know anything about him. I hadn’t even heard of Brown Eyed Girl. He was playing the song Wavelength and it sounded great. I would not become a fan until 1985 when I got a compilation album with Brown Eyed Girl on it.
When I heard Brown Eyed Girl I read everything I could about Van Morrison. The first album I purchased was Tupelo Honey so I went from there and bought most of his ’70s albums… plus a Them compilation.
Kingdom Hall kicks the album off as the opening track. It’s very radio-friendly and commercial-sounding. The album was one of his best sellers up to that time. Jehovah’s Witnesses use Kingdom Halls for worship and Bible lessons. During the 1950s, his mother Violet was a steady member of the Witnesses for a few years and Van occasionally accompanied her. Evidently, he had a good time at those at least during the singing.
The album Wavelength peaked at #28 in the Billboard Album Charts, #31 in Canada, #27 in the UK, and #9 in New Zealand in 1978.
I was lucky to see him in concert on March 7, 2006, at the Ryman. If you ever get the chance to see him…don’t pass it up. His voice is even better in concert than on record and that is saying something.
Van has a complicated history. Some have said he was the nicest person in the world to them and some not so much. I guess that describes a lot of us.
Harvey Goldsmith (Morrison’s manager): “Every single person that had been involved with him, be it record company, publishing, promoting, agency or whatever, had a tremendous respect for him. But everyone also said that he was the most difficult person in the world to deal with.”
Kingdom Hall
So glad to see you
So glad you’re here
Come here beside me now
We can clear inhibition away
All inhibitions
Throw them away
And when we dance like this
Like we’ve never been dancin’ before
[Chorus:]
Oh, they were swingin’
Down at Kingdom Hall
Oh, bells were ringin’
Down at the Kingdom Hall
A choir was singin’
Down at the Kingdom Hall
Hey, liley, liley, liley
Hey, liley, liley, low
Do do do do do do, do
Do do do do do do
Do do do do do do, do
Do do do do do do
Good body music
Brings you right here
Free flowin’ motion now
When we’re shakin’ it out on the floor
Good rockin’ music
Down in your shoes
And when we dance like this
Like we’ve never been dancin’ before
[Chorus]
Down at the Kingdom Hall
They were havin’ a party
They were havin’ a ball
Bells were ringing out
And the choir was singin’
Hey, liley, liley, liley
Hey, liley, liley, low
Do do, do do, do do, do do
Sugar was there
Did you see Sugar
Down at the Kingdom Hall
Sugar was tough
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Great post. Haven’t listened to this track in ages and forgot how good it is. Is it just me or do the intro’s to this and “Running on Empty” have a lot in common?
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It is familiar yes I agree… this is the Morrison song I almost posted the other day. I’ve always liked it.
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Great song, Max. Van Morrison has written a lot of top notch music. I guess “Brown Eyed Girl” also was the first song I heard – don’t fully remember.
My entry point was the “Moondance” album, which I borrowed from my brother-in-law and taped on music cassette ca. in the early ’80s. It remains my favorite to this day, along with his early work with Them.
My longtime German music buddy is a Van Morrison fan and has seen him several times. I haven’t and nowadays I’m not sure I ever will. It’s hard to get past the crazy conspiracy theories he spread about COVID and the vaccine – I’m sorry, that crosses the line, and I have no time for such loonies!
This doesn’t change the fact Morrison has released some extraordinary music. I wish I would have seen him before he lost it!
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I’ve seen those live clips of the seventies and he was every bit as good when I saw him in 2006. This album in particular is probably one of the most radio friendly albums he made…this along with Tupelo Honey.
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I’ve definitely listened to “Tupelo Honey” and love “Wild Night”, but it’s been a while!
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Quite good, and new to me. I do like the song ‘Wavelength’ which might be the only one I know of the album. This has a rather gospel revival sound which I guess fits the subject.
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This one and Wavelength are the two I started to listen to first when I got the album and the song Checking It Out…it would be the last radio friendly album he had for a while…to me anyway.
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I would love to go to a Van Morrison concert.
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Jim…I always say this but his voice is even better live than on record…you know I”m a huge fan…and it surprised me on how great his voice really is that you don’t hear on records. If you get a chance….see him.
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Im a Van guy from way back and still am. His voice, lyrics and music never fail to move me. I think he had that in mind when he wrote this tune. He saw people getting moved down at “The Kingdom Hall”. Great choice Max.
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Thanks CB…you don’t hear this one everyday but I liked it.
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I like the spiritual slant on the song. I’m a bit of a sucker for them (two in a row from you. ‘When The Spirit Comes’). Bruce has had a few about faith over the years. I remember when he released this song and thought he went JW. Didnt know it was his Ma. The guy just makes great music. Captures the emotion for sure.
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Well it almost was three…I almost did Shelter Me Lord by Blackie also….too many to pick from. I like those also CB…I still love the old Amazing Grace….one of the best melodies ever…especially on slide.
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Yes.
Linden is such a good player no wonder everyone want him around.
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Can’t go wrong with Van Morrison.
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Hi Max, that’s impressive you can remember the show and exact date of your first viewing of Van Morrison. I call myself unfortunate that I never delved more deeply into his music. Also, if there was any place I’d want to see him, it would be the Ryman – you lucky buggar…
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Oh…I had to look it up when it first aired! My memory isn’t that good!
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I don’t have to remember the date – they recorded the album “A Night In San Francisco” when I saw him. My son was in utero. He seemed to like it. He also liked jazz in utero. He was very active when we saw Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble.
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Well the music at the Kingdom Hall must have drastically changed since the 70’s. As someone raised in the faith, I can attest to the music being quite underwhelming. They have their own songs that they create, and the music is played over the intercom from a cassette tape. No live instruments or choir is allowed. So I’m quite interested to know what kind of Kingdom Hall Van Morrison went to. Great song though.
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We have one here where I live in Tennessee but like you…I never heard about any great music coming from there. I guess in Ireland it was different….but like you said…good song! Thank you for reading!
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