Wavelength

Album: Wavelength (1978)
Charted: 42
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Often interpreted as a song about Morrison's travels in America or a celebration of FM radio, Van explained that it is actually about the Voice of America, which is a radio service run by the United States government for political purposes. Morrison explained to Melody Maker in 1979 that he listened to the service when he was a kid. "It's actually about Europe, because that's where the station was. It came out of Frankfurt, and the first time I ever heard Ray Charles was on the Voice of America. We tried to get a tape recording of the Voice of America to put on the front of that track, but it didn't work out. I didn't get it by the time the album was due to be mixed. But I think it would have made it a lot clearer if the signature thing was on the front of it. It doesn't click for a lot of people."
  • This was used on the sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati in the 1982 episode "The Creation of Venus."

Comments: 1

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 4th 1978, Van Morrison performed "Wavelength" on the NBC-TV program 'Saturday Night Live'...
    At the time the song was at #42 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, and that was also its peak position on the chart...
    It was his last record to make the Top 100 chart...
    Between 1967 and 1978 he had eleven Top 100 records; with two making the Top 10, "Brown Eyed Girl" at #10 in 1967 and "Domino" at #9 in 1971...
    George Ivan Morrison celebrated his 69th birthday just over two months ago on August 31st {2014}.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.