Van Morrison producer Lewis Merenstein has died at the age of 81, according to Rolling Stone.
Merenstein is known for helping create some of Morrison's classic albums, such as 1968's Astral Weeks and 1970's Moondance.
Ryan Hamilton Walsh was the first person to report Merenstein's passing, while his daughter Ilene made it known to Rolling Stone.
"It was just beautiful, just beautiful," Merenstein said of the Astral Weeks sessions. "I forget if we did one take, two takes, how many times I may have interrupted it and asked the band to soften it up a little bit and maybe move the tempo a little bit. Van had nothing to say. He just went and sang the song. That's primarily the way the album proceeded."
Some of the other albums Merenstein is credited as a producer include John Cale's Vintage Violence, Spencer Davis Group's Funky and Cass Elliot's 1972 self-titled LP.
The former producer is survived by his brother Noel, daughters Ilene and Emma Terese, grandchildren Kyle and Devyn and son-in-law Linkoy.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Entertainment News
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.