"Whenever God Shines His Light" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and released on his 1989 album ''

Avalon Sunset ''Avalon Sunset'' is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. In 2008, ''Avalon Sunset'' was reissued and remastered, featuri ...

'' as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

. 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 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

television show, ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. The single charted at No. 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and No. 3 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Jason Ankeny describes it as a "standout opener" to ''Avalon Sunset''. 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". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "if

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

can have a hit single while invoking his sweet Lord, Van could do it with the totally engaging 'Whenever God Shines His Light.'"

Appearances on other albums

*''

The Best of Van Morrison ''The Best of Van Morrison'' is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It compiles songs spanning 25 years of his recording career. Released in 1990 by Polydor Records, the album was a critical and commercial succes ...

'' (1990) *''

Still on Top – The Greatest Hits ''Still on Top – The Greatest Hits'' is the third compilation album to be issued by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 2007. It was released 22 October 2007 in the UK in a two-CD album with 37 tracks and with a three-CD Digipak l ...

'' (2 disc U.K. edition) *''

Van Morrison The Concert ''Van Morrison: The Concert'' is the second video released by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, first released in 1990. Recorded in New York City the previous year, the concert featured two special guests and long-time friends Mose ...

'' (1990)

Personnel

* Van Morrison – vocals, guitar *

– vocals *

Arty McGlynn Arty McGlynn (7 August 1944 – 18 December 2019) was an Irish guitarist born in Omagh, County Tyrone. In addition to his solo work, he collaborated with different notable groups such as Patrick Street, Planxty, Four Men and a Dog, De Dannan and ...

– guitar * Neil Drinkwater – piano * Steve Pearce – bass guitar * Roy Jones – drums, percussion *

Dave Early Dave Early (5 April 1957 – 14 October 1996) was an English drummer and percussionist. He was best known as the original drummer for Sade. He also worked with Chris Rea, Van Morrison, The Chieftains, Mary Black, Ananta, and others. Later he moved ...

– drums, percussion

Covers

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for Cla ...

* Waterdeep *Danish Radio Big Band * Marc Roberts

References

Sources

* Rogan, Johnny (2006). '' Van Morrison: No Surrender'', London:Vintage Books {{Authority control Van Morrison songs Cliff Richard songs Male vocal duets 1989 singles Songs written by Van Morrison 1989 songs Song recordings produced by Van Morrison