"I Will Be There" is a song featured on Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

's sixth album Saint Dominic's Preview

Saint Dominic's Preview

Saint Dominic's Preview is the sixth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records...

(1972). The song is also the B-side to Morrison's single "Warm Love

Warm Love

"Warm Love" is a hit song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1973 album Hard Nose the Highway. It was a Top Forty single hit when released in April 1973. Jackie De Shannon sang back-up vocals...

", released in 1973.

The song features piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 from Tom Salisbury, who also arranged the song. Featured in the song is a saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 solo from long serving Jack Schroer

Jack Schroer

John Henry "Jack" Schroer was a saxophonist, pianist and arranger best known for his work with Van Morrison in the 1970s as a member of his band The Caledonia Soul Orchestra....

. John Collis says, "A hero (of Van), is evoked by the piano-led blues "I Will Be There" -the spirit of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

 looms large in the song." The Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

review of Saint Dominic's Preview remarks: "'I Will Be There' goes the furthest of any (of the songs in Saint Dominic's Preview) into R&B-jazz roots, as Van pays expert musical tribute to Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

 and Joe Williams

Joe Williams (jazz singer)

Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...

."

Other releases

It was one of the live performances recorded and included on Morrison's 1996 live album, How Long Has This Been Going On

How Long Has This Been Going On

How Long Has This Been Going On is the twenty-fourth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, "with Georgie Fame and Friends", released in 1996...

. A live performance of "I Will Be There", recorded in 1989, is featured on the video album, Van Morrison The Concert

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 the previous year, the concert featured two special guests and long-time friends Mose Allison and John Lee Hooker, each of whom performed some of...

, released in 1990.

Personnel

• Van Morrison
  Van Morrison
  Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
  
  : vocal
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  s
• Jules Broussard: tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  
• Bill Church
  Bill Church
  William 'Bill' Church , started out playing bass in a band called Sawbuck in 1969, with Mojo Collins, Starr Donaldson, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff. As the band was beginning to record their first album, Montrose and Church left Sawbuck to join Van Morrison on his Tupelo Honey album...
  
  : bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Gary Mallaber
  Gary Mallaber
  Gary Mallaber is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He got his start playing drums in a band from Buffalo, New York, known as Raven....
  
  : drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Doug Messenger: guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Tom Salisbury: piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Jack Schroer
  Jack Schroer
  John Henry "Jack" Schroer was a saxophonist, pianist and arranger best known for his work with Van Morrison in the 1970s as a member of his band The Caledonia Soul Orchestra....
  
  : alto saxophone
  Alto saxophone
  The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
  
  

Covers

• Colin James
  Colin James
  Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...
  
   on Colin James & The Little Big Band 3
  Colin James & The Little Big Band 3
  Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 is the tenth studio album by Canadian blues/rock musician Colin James and the third Little Big Band album with its swing/jive themes...
  
  
• Pee Wee Ellis
  Pee Wee Ellis
  Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
  
  with Van Morrison