Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance ‘ Began in the Hudson Valley
This Sunday on the WPDH Album of the Week, we'll feature an album that began right here in the Hudson Valley, Van Morrison's Moondance.
Moondance is the third studio album from Van Morrison and was released on January 27, 1970, by Warner Brothers Records. The album was recorded between August and September of 1969 at A&R Studio in New York City. Van Morrison is credit as producing the album.
Following the failure of his first Warner Bros. record, Astral Weeks, Morrison moved to upstate New York. That's right, he ended up right here in the Hudson Valley in Woodstock. He moved there with his wife. It was while he was in Woodstock, that he started writing songs for Moondance. The musicians that went on to record Moondance with Morrison were recruited from Woodstock and went on to work with Morrison for years. The musicians include John Platania, saxophonist Jack Schroer, and keyboardist Jef Labes.