Songfacts®:

• "Whenever God Shines His Light," a duet between Van Morrison and British pop icon Cliff Richard, bursts with gospel-inspired joy and unabashed spirituality. Released on November 27, 1989, it arrived on the airwaves ready for the Christmas market.
• Morrison and Richard describe God's light as a transformative force that opens one's eyes and provides clarity. Anyone can experience this divine light and its benefits, regardless of their circumstances, by reaching out to the Almighty. The song is steeped in the mellow folk-rock stylings that permeate Morrison's Avalon Sunset album, where themes of love and divine connection intermingle with his trademark soulful delivery. The album also features "Have I Told You Lately," a song Morrison once described as a prayer, and which later became a global hit for Rod Stewart in 1993.
• "Whenever God Shines His Light" wasn't initially conceived as a duet. It began as a solo piece, but its evolution into a collaboration is a tale of serendipity. Morrison recounted the story to Uncut magazine, explaining how the idea came about:
  
  "We were in the studio recording Avalon Sunset and listening to the playback, and a TV was on in the background. Cliff was on the screen, and our drummer joked, 'Let's get Cliff on this.'"
  
  What started as an offhand remark quickly turned into reality. A member of the team, Mick McDonagh, reached out to Richard's management.
  
  Morrison recounted: "I met up with Mick McDonagh a couple of weeks later and he said, 'Well he wants to do it.' I said, 'Who wants to do what?' 'Cliff wants to do it.' 'Who's Cliff?' Cliff Richard wants to do it.' I said, 'Oh, great, well, OK, that will be different.' And it was. It was fun doing it."
• For Morrison, raised as a Protestant in Belfast with a mix of religious influences - including his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith - spirituality has always been a recurring theme. His catalog is rich with songs that explore the divine, from the evocative "In The Garden" on No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, which invokes the Holy Trinity, to "Transformation" from Roll With the Punches, inspired by his association with the Agape International Spiritual Center.
  
  For Cliff Richard, the song was a natural fit. A devout Christian since his conversion in 1966, Richard has long used his platform to express his faith, and "Whenever God Shines His Light" offered yet another opportunity to combine his musical talents with his spiritual beliefs.
• Van Morrison and Cliff Richard recorded "Whenever God Shines His Light" on February 20, 1989, at The Townhouse Studios in London. Not only did Morrison lend his voice to the track, but he also played guitar. The other musicians are:
  
  Arty McGlynn on guitar. An Irish virtuoso from Omagh, County Tyrone, McGlynn earned acclaim with his 1979 solo album McGlynn's Fancy. He contributed guitar to Morrison's albums Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Avalon Sunset, and Days Like This.
  
  Neil Drinkwater on piano. A versatile musician known for his work as a pianist, keyboardist, and accordionist, Drinkwater works as a freelance session musician and arranger.
  
  Steve Pearce on bass guitar. A seasoned session musician with a résumé that includes collaborations with Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder, Pearce's talents extend to the silver screen, where he contributed to the soundtrack of the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.
  
  Roy Jones and Dave Early on drums and percussion. Early was a key member of Sade's band during the mid-1980s, performing on her iconic albums Diamond Life and Promise.
• "Whenever God Shines His Light" stands out as Van Morrison's sole UK Top 20 hit under his own name. While his solo chart successes have been relatively sparse, his time as the lead vocalist for the band Them in the 1960s yielded significant hits, including "Baby Please Don't Go" (peaking at #10) and "Here Comes The Night" (reaching #2) in 1965.