SIGNS
“Signs” is a song by the Canadian rock group Five Man Electrical Band. It was written by Les Emmerson and popularized the relatively unknown band, who recorded it for their second album, Good-byes and Butterflies in 1970. “Signs” was originally released that year as the B-side to the relatively unsuccessful single “Hello Melinda Goodbye” (#55 Canada). Re-released in 1971 as the A-side, “Signs” reached No. 4 in Canada and No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song for 1971. (More from Wikipedia)
Two of the earliest Christian contemporary hit songs came out in the same year (1971) as “Lions Christians” by Bang: “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band and “Put Your Hand in the Hand” by Ocean. Interestingly, both are Canadian bands.
(March 2010)
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Rock songs with religious themes, like “Mother of Mystery” by the Invisible Eyes, have always been fascinating to me. By now, Christian contemporary music has become an industry, but it wasn’t always like that. One long-time favorite is “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band; as familiar as the song is to me now, the singer who has been complaining about hypocrisy all through the earlier part of the song winds up in church in the final verse, and that is still jarring and unexpected.
Tesla did a remake of “Signs” not so long ago on an album they called Five Man Acoustical Jam; and as far as I am concerned, they kind of missed the point: The instrumental introduction to the original song that I sometimes hear on the local oldies radio station is as free-wheeling an electrical jam as I have ever heard. Unfortunately, that jam didn’t make it onto the single that I own, and I have never found the Five Man Electrical Band album that features “Signs”, Goodbyes and Butterflies.
(December 2012)
