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Van Morrison began his career in Belfast in the 1960s as the lead singer of Them, whose recordings of songs such as “Gloria” and “Here Comes the Night” introduced his gritty voice and songwriting to a wider audience. He launched his solo career in 1967 with Blowin’ Your Mind!, which included “Brown Eyed Girl,” then followed with albums such as Astral Weeks, Moondance, Tupelo Honey, and Wavelength. His songs have moved through rock, soul, blues, jazz, folk, country, and Celtic influences, giving other artists an enormous catalog to reinterpret.
The ten performances below show just how adaptable Morrison’s writing can be. Some of these artists stay close to the spirit of the originals, while others completely reshape the songs through punk, roots rock, soul, pop, or live performance. The best covers do more than repeat a familiar recording; they reveal something new inside the song.
# 10 – The Way Young Lovers Do – Maria McKee
Maria McKee turned “The Way Young Lovers Do” into one of the most striking moments on her 1993 album You Gotta Sin to Get Saved. Van Morrison’s original on Astral Weeks moves with jazzy momentum, while McKee slows the song down and lets the emotion sit right at the center of the performance. George Drakoulias produced the album, surrounding McKee with musicians who understood how much space her voice needed. The arrangement feels darker and more fragile than Morrison’s version without losing the melody that made the song so memorable in the first place. McKee sings it like she is remembering something that still hurts. That is exactly what a great cover should do, keep the song recognizable while making the listener hear it from another angle.
Read More: 10 Maria McKee Songs That Will Leave You Mesmerized
# 9 – Tupelo Honey – Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield brought her own soulfulness to “Tupelo Honey” on her 1973 album Cameo. Morrison’s original had appeared two years earlier as the title track of Tupelo Honey, but Springfield softens the edges and makes the song feel more intimate. Her version was produced during the Cameo sessions by Steve Barri, Dennis Lambert, and Brian Potter, with Michael Omartian among the musicians and arrangers involved in the album. Springfield had one of the great interpretive voices in popular music, and she understood how to make somebody else’s song sound personal without oversinging it. The sweetness of Morrison’s melody fits her beautifully. This is a cover that works because Springfield trusts the song and lets her voice do the rest.
Read More: Top 10 Dusty Springfield Songs
# 8 – And It Stoned Me – Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic recorded “And It Stoned Me” for the 1995 benefit compilation Hempilation: Freedom Is NORML. Morrison’s original opens Moondance with one of his most vivid memories of youth, rain, fishing, and the almost spiritual power of an ordinary day. Widespread Panic keeps the relaxed feel of the song but filters it through the band’s Southern rock and jam-band instincts. The performance breathes more than the original, giving the musicians room to stretch without turning the song into something unrecognizable. That loose communal quality fits Morrison’s writing surprisingly well. It sounds less like a formal cover and more like a band settling into a song they genuinely love playing.
Read More: Top 10 Widespread Panic Songs
# 7 – Carrying A Torch – Tom Jones
Tom Jones was an ideal singer for “Carrying a Torch” because the song needs a voice that can sound powerful and wounded at the same time. Van Morrison wrote the song and recorded his own version for the 1991 album Hymns to the Silence. Jones used it as the title track of his own 1991 album, and it was one of four songs on that record produced by Morrison. Morrison also played guitar on those four tracks, giving the collaboration a direct connection to the songwriter instead of turning it into a distant remake. Jones brings more dramatic force to the melody, but the longing at the heart of the song remains intact. Two very different voices meet inside the same composition, and both versions make sense.
Read More: Top 10 Tom Jones Songs
# 6 – Into The Mystic – Michael McDonald
I can listen to Michael McDonald singing the McDonald’s menu and still want to hear him do it again. Is there anyone else who puts more soul and feeling into a vocal performance than McDonald? Of course there are many great singers, but every time he steps up to a microphone he brings something special. His version of “Into the Mystic” appeared on the 2008 album Soul Speak, not on either of his earlier Motown tribute records. Morrison’s original from Moondance is one of the most magical songs he ever composed, and McDonald does not try to overpower it. He simply brings that unmistakable voice to the melody and lets the song carry him.
Read More: Top 10 Michael McDonald Songs
# 5 – I’ve Been Working – Bob Seger
Bob Seger’s version of “I’ve Been Working” sounds like a Van Morrison song that had been waiting for Seger to get his hands on it. Seger recorded the track for his 1973 album Back in ’72, with Punch Andrews producing the record. Morrison had released the original on His Band and the Street Choir in 1970, where its soul and R&B groove already carried plenty of energy. Seger pushes the song further toward hard rock, using his rough vocal and a tougher rhythm section to make the performance hit harder. The song fits naturally beside the working-class intensity that would soon define Seger’s own writing. It is a great example of a cover artist recognizing something in the original that already belonged in his musical world.
Read More: Top 20 Bob Seger Songs
# 4 – Crazy Love – Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé made “Crazy Love” the title track of his hugely successful 2009 album, giving Morrison’s ballad a polished contemporary setting. The original appeared on Moondance in 1970 and remains one of Morrison’s warmest and most direct love songs. Bublé does not try to compete with Morrison’s grainier vocal style; he approaches the melody as a modern crooner and lets the lyric remain simple. The arrangement is smoother and more carefully polished, which fits Bublé’s musical world without changing the emotional center of the composition. That contrast is what makes the cover interesting. It proves that a strong song can survive a completely different vocal personality and still feel honest.
Read More: Top 10 Michael Bublé Songs
# 3 – Wild Night – John Mellencamp featuring Meshell Ndegeocello
John Mellencamp and Meshell Ndegeocello turned “Wild Night” into one of the biggest Van Morrison covers ever released. Their 1994 version appeared on Mellencamp’s album Dance Naked and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Morrison had originally released the song on Tupelo Honey in 1971, where the horns and rhythm section gave it an easy, celebratory swing. Mellencamp strips the arrangement down and gives it more roots-rock muscle, while Ndegeocello’s bass and vocal presence add an entirely different kind of groove. The two performers never sound as though they are trying to imitate Morrison. They take the excitement already inside the song and rebuild it around their own chemistry.
Read More: Top 10 John Mellencamp Songs
# 2 – Have I Told You Lately – Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart’s live version of “Have I Told You Lately” became almost as familiar to many listeners as Van Morrison’s original. Stewart had first recorded the song for Vagabond Heart, then performed it for Unplugged…and Seated in 1993. That live recording reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent five weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Morrison’s original, released on Avalon Sunset in 1989, carries a spiritual dimension that reaches beyond a conventional love song. Stewart brings his familiar rasp and a warmer arena-ballad feel to the composition without losing its tenderness. It is one of those rare covers that became a signature performance for the second artist while still remaining unmistakably a Van Morrison song.
Read More: Top 10 Rod Stewart Songs
# 1 – Gloria – Patti Smith
Patti Smith did not simply cover “Gloria”; she tore the song apart and rebuilt it around her own identity. Morrison wrote and recorded the original with Them in 1964, creating one of the most durable garage-rock songs of the decade. Smith opened her 1975 debut album Horses with a version that combines her own “In Excelsis Deo” text with Morrison’s familiar “Gloria” structure. John Cale produced the album, while Lenny Kaye’s guitar and the rest of the Patti Smith Group keep the arrangement lean enough for Smith’s words to dominate the performance. The result connects 1960s garage rock directly to the punk movement that was beginning to take shape in New York. This is what happens when a cover becomes a completely new work of art without losing the force of the song that inspired it.
Read More: Top 10 Essential Patti Smith Songs
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Updated September 16, 2026.
10 Best Covers Of Van Morrison Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
One of the best of Van Morrison covers, whether it is the studio version from the “One Particular Harbour” LP (1983) , or one of the numerous recorded Live versions (a staple at many of his concerts) Jimmy Buffett”s cover of “Brown Eyed Girl” takes Van Morrison’s original to another state of mind, soaking in sunshine, tropical waterfalls, steel drums, and cool breezes.