| "Blue Money" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Morrison | ||||
| from the album His Band and the Street Choir | ||||
| A-side | "Blue Money" | |||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Genre | R&B [1] | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Producer(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Blue Money" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was the second of two Top Forty hits from his 1970 album, His Band and the Street Choir (the other being " Domino"), reaching No. 23 on the US chart. The US single featured " Sweet Thing", from the album Astral Weeks, as the B-side. It was released as a single in the UK in June 1971 with a different B-side, "Call Me Up in Dreamland". The song became Morrison's third best selling single of the 1970s, remaining on the charts for three months. [2]
The lyrics have the singer promising his girl that they will paint the town together with her "blue money". [3] Critic Maury Dean states that the theme picks up from Lefty Frizzell's 1950 No. 1 song " If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time". [3] In a 1972 Rolling Stone interview with John Grissim Jr., Morrison commented about the popularity of "Blue Money" in cities like Boston and New York City: "Out here I get asked to play 'Blue Money' all the time. All the kids love it, the kids in the street. It's their favorite number." [4]
Critical response
Robert Christgau, writing in the Village Voice in 1971, described "Blue Money" and "Domino" as "superb examples of Morrison's loose, allusive white r&b." [1] Record World called it a "nifty cut" and praised Morrison's "scat singing." [5] Cash Box said "Van Morrison heads further into the blues base that marked his early hit material, but which now serves as a change of recent pace." [6] Billboard called it "a solid rocker that should keep [Morrison] active on the charts." [7]
Writer M. Mark described it as "a pun-filled song about time and cash." [8] Biographer Brian Hinton compared the song's sound to Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: "boozy horns and a nonsensical chorus." [9] Dean praises the song's "snarly, snappity sounds" and Morrison's " jazzy baritone." [3]
Covers
Cristina covered "Blue Money" on her 1984 album, Sleep It Off and The Flying Pickets included an a cappella version as the title track on their 1990 album, Blue Money. The song was also featured throughout the 1985 British television film Blue Money, starring Tim Curry [10]
Personnel
- Van Morrison – guitar, vocal
- Alan Hand – piano
- Keith Johnson – trumpet
- John Klingberg – bass
- John Platania – guitar
- Jack Schroer – baritone saxophone
- Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) – drums
The Street Choir:
- Larry Goldsmith
- Janet Planet
- Andrew Robinson
- Ellen Schroer
- Dahaud Shaar
- Martha Velez
Charts
| Chart (1971) [11] | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Pop Singles | 23 |
Notes
- ^ a b Chritgau, Robert (1 March 1971). "Consumer Guide". Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- ^ Dewitt. The Mystic's Music. p.87
- ^ a b c Dean, M. (2003). Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 329. ISBN 0875862071.
- ^ Grissim Jr., John (2 June 1972). "Van Morrison: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
- ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Single Product. 30 January 1971. p. 12. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 30 January 1971. p. 26. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 30 January 1971. p. 60. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island, Greil Marcus, ed., p.10 (1979)
- ^ Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p.123
- ^ "Blue Money (TV Movie 1985) - IMDb". IMDb. 23 April 1985.
- ^ Allmusic: Van Morrison bllboard singles
References
- Hinton, Brian, Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary (1997). ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- DeWitt, Howard A., Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music, Horizon Books (1983). ISBN 0-938840-02-9
