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Blue Money

{{for|the films|Blue Money (1972 film)|Blue Money (1985 film)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Money

| cover = BlueMoney.VM.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Van Morrison

| album = His Band and the Street Choir

| A-side = Blue Money

| B-side = {{ubl|"Sweet Thing" (US)|"Call Me Up in Dreamland" (Europe)}}

| released = 1971

| format =

| recorded = 1970

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = R&B

| length = 3:40

| label = Warner Bros.

| writer = Van Morrison

| producer = Van Morrison

| prev_title = Domino

| prev_year = 1970

| next_title = Call Me Up in Dreamland

| next_year = 1971

| misc =

}}

"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.Dewitt. The Mystic's Music. p.87

The lyrics have the singer promising his girl that they will paint the town together with her "blue money".{{cite book|title=Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush|author=Dean, M.|author-link=Maury Dean|page=329|year=2003|publisher=Algora|isbn=0875862071}} 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". 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."{{cite magazine|author=Grissim Jr., John|date=2 June 1972|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/5939314/van_morrison|title=Van Morrison: The Rolling Stone Interview|magazine=Rolling Stone |accessdate=28 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211150105/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/5939314/van_morrison|archive-date=11 December 2007|url-status=dead}}

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."{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg16.php|title=Consumer Guide|date=1 March 1971|author=Christgau, Robert|accessdate=4 October 2009}} Record World called it a "nifty cut" and praised Morrison's "scat singing."{{cite magazine|title=Picks of the Week|magazine=Single Product|date=January 30, 1971|page=12|accessdate=2023-04-22|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/71/RR-1971-01-30.pdf}} 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."{{cite magazine|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|date=January 30, 1971|page=26|accessdate=2023-04-22|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-01-30.pdf}} Billboard called it "a solid rocker that should keep [Morrison] active on the charts."{{cite magazine|title=Spotlight Singles|magazine=Billboard|date=January 30, 1971|page=60|accessdate=2023-04-22|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1971/Billboard%201971-01-30.pdf}}

Writer M. Mark described it as "a pun-filled song about time and cash."Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island, Greil Marcus, ed., p.10 (1979) Biographer Brian Hinton compared the song's sound to Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: "boozy horns and a nonsensical chorus."Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p.123 Dean praises the song's "snarly, snappity sounds" and Morrison's "jazzy baritone."

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{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083666/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_208|title = Blue Money (TV Movie 1985) - IMDb| website=IMDb |date = 23 April 1985}}

Personnel

The Street Choir:

  • Larry Goldsmith
  • Janet Planet
  • Andrew Robinson
  • Ellen Schroer
  • Dahaud Shaar
  • Martha Velez

Charts

class="wikitable"

!Chart (1971)[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic: Van Morrison billboard singles]

!Peak
Position

align="left"|U.S. Pop Singles

|align="center"|23

Notes

{{Reflist|2}}

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}}

{{Van Morrison singles}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1970 singles

Category:1971 singles

Category:Van Morrison songs

Category:Songs written by Van Morrison

Category:1970 songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Van Morrison

Category:Warner Records singles