Whenever God Shines His Light
| "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 | ||||
| ||||
"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]
Appearances on other albums
- The Best of Van Morrison (1990)
- Still on Top - The Greatest Hits (2 disc U.K. edition)
- Van Morrison The Concert (1990)
Personnel
- 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
- Aled Jones[7]
- Waterdeep[7]
- Danish Radio Big Band[7]
- Marc Roberts
Notes
- ^ Melissa Ruggieri. "Concert review: Van Morrison still stirring souls at Atlanta show". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender, 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.
- ^ a b c "allmusic: Whenever God Shines His Light". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
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References
- Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1