YouTube Gold: Tupelo Honey

Van Morrison is many things: a visionary, a brilliant talent, a musical historian, a passionate believer.

But you could perhaps argue that he’s (take your pick) a man running a profound musical marathon or a survivor.

Or both.

Morrison, a native of Northern Ireland, toured Europe for the first time when he was 17. That means he’s been a working musician for 60 years. His eternal summer classic, Brown Eyed Girl, was released in 1967 - 55 years ago.

Originally called Brown Skinned Girl before the record company forced him to change it, the song never sounds dated.

He released albums like Astral Weeks in 1968, which came out when he was just 23, and Moondance, which came out two years later, and both were just stunners.

Tupelo Honey came out in 1971 and the title track became another classic. This video is live and from the 1970’s as far as we can tell.

It’s early Morrison at his finest. This song is also used incredibly well at the end of the movie Ulee’s Gold.