Moondance is a song by Northern Irish singer Van Morrison and the title track of his third studio album, Moondance (1970). Written by Morrison and produced with Lewis Merenstein, the tune blends soft rock and jazz rock with a walking bass and a light jazz swing. It was recorded in August 1969 at Mastertone Studio in New York City, featuring a piano solo by Jef Labes, guitar, saxophones and a flute cadenza that ends the track. Morrison wrote the melody first on soprano sax before adding lyrics, describing the song as sophisticated and suitable for Frank Sinatra. Although the album arrived in 1970, Moondance was released as a single in September 1977 and reached #92 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with the B-side Cold Wind in August. The song has become Morrison's most performed live number and is regarded as a definitive jazz influenced composition, frequently cited in lists of great songs such as Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1990.
