"Whenever God Shines His Light" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and released on his 1989 album Avalon Sunset as a duet with Cliff Richard. Although the album was released in June 1989, this song was released as a single in November 1989 for the Christmas sales market. Morrison and Richard performed the duet on the British music chart television show, Top of the Pops. The single charted at No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.[2][3][4] AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny describes it as a "standout opener" to Avalon Sunset.[5] Critic Patrick Humphries describes it as "the most manifest example of Morrison's Christian commitment," claiming that although it "is not one of Morrison's most outstanding songs" it works as "a testament of faith".[6] Cash Box said that "if George Harrison can have a hit single while invoking his sweet Lord, Van could do it with the totally engaging 'Whenever God Shines His Light.'"[7]
| "Whenever God Shines His Light" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Morrison and Cliff Richard | ||||
| from the album Avalon Sunset | ||||
| B-side | "I'd Love to Write Another Song" | |||
| Released | 27 November 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 20 February 1989 | |||
| Studio | The Townhouse, England | |||
| Genre | Gospel[1] | |||
| Length | 4:58 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Producer(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Cliff Richard singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Avalon Sunset track listing | ||||
10 tracks
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Whenever God Shines His Light" on YouTube | ||||
Appearances on other albums
edit- The Best of Van Morrison (1990)
- Still on Top – The Greatest Hits (2 disc U.K. edition)
- Van Morrison The Concert (1990)
Personnel
edit- Van Morrison – vocals, guitar
- Cliff Richard – vocals
- Arty McGlynn – guitar
- Neil Drinkwater – piano
- Steve Pearce – bass guitar
- Roy Jones – drums, percussion
- Dave Early – drums, percussion
Covers
edit- Aled Jones[8]
- Waterdeep[8]
- Danish Radio Big Band[8]
- Marc Roberts
References
edit- ^ Ruggieri, Melissa. "Concert review: Van Morrison still stirring souls at Atlanta show". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Rogan, p.385
- ^ "Van Morrison UK Singles chart positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ Ankeny, J. "Avalon Sunset". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ Humphries, P. (1997). Van Morrison. Omnibus Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0711956006.
- ^ Wednesday, Oscar (24 June 1989). "Pure Pop for Now People" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 14. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "allmusic: Whenever God Shines His Light". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
Sources
edit- Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1