Van Morrison Platania is best known for his work with
Van Morrison, beginning on
Moondance, and most recently on 2016's
Keep Me Singing. In 1973 he toured with Morrison as a member of his band at the time
The Caledonia Soul Orchestra. The double live album ''
It's Too Late to Stop Now'' was released in 1974, which included songs from three nights of the tour. Platania also co-wrote two songs with Morrison, on his compilation album of
out-takes ''
The Philosopher's Stone'', as well as playing guitar on several of the tracks on disc one. He played guitar on several of the tracks on the March 2008 release of Morrison's thirty-third studio album
Keep It Simple. He again played guitar on several of the tracks on the September 2016 release of Morrison's thirty-sixth studio album
Keep Me Singing.
Solo works In 2002, Platania released his solo debut
Lucky Dog, a collaboration with cartoon artist Elwood H. Smith. In 2007, Platania released his second and predominantly instrumental CD entitled 'Blues Waltzes and Badland Borders'. The album features narration by artists such as
Jon Voight and
Alejandro Escovedo.
Work with others Platania played on numerous albums for
Chip Taylor, songwriter of "
Wild Thing" and "
Angel of the Morning" and from 1974 through 1982, he recorded and or performed with
Randy Newman,
Bonnie Raitt,
Natalie Merchant and
Judy Collins. Platania began working with
Don McLean in 1981 playing as his accompanist on every US, Canadian and overseas tour until 1996. John Platania has never been on any records with Don McLean, only on the road. In 2007, Don McLean said "John Platania has been a great friend. He was a completely reliable, fantastically inspired, hard-working, funny and wise human being. I feel very fortunate to have found him and very fortunate that he was willing to devote as much of his time to me and my music as he did" (Howard, 2007). In 1983, he produced and wrote the score for the
Emmy winning musical revue
None for the Road, a public service production to educate young people about the dangers of drinking, drugs and driving. Platania has worked as a producer on six albums for
Guy Davis. He also produced Davis’s "I Will Be Your Friend,” the title song for the
Southern Poverty Law Center’s "anti-hate" compilation CD. Platania has also worked with Davis on songs for tribute CDs to
Charley Patton and
Nick Lowe. He composed the music for Sail Production’s stage version of
Harriet Tubman, which toured the United States during
Black History Month. From the 2010s to present, he has been the guitarist for Chip Taylor's backup band, The New Ukrainians. ==Discography==