“Spirit in the Sky” is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in late 1969. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970 and reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (April 18, 1970), where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 22 song of 1970. It also climbed to number one on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone ranked “Spirit in the Sky” No. 333 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was featured on the 1969 album of the same name. Cover versions by Doctor and the Medics and Gareth Gates have also made the number 1 spot in the UK. (More from Wikipedia)
“Spirit in the Sky” by Jewish-American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum is one of the biggest Christian-themed songs in music. “Spirit in the Sky” sold 2,000,000 copies and reached the top of the charts in the U.K., Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Germany; it went to #3 in the U.S. Norman Greenbaum remains a practicing Jew and was inspired to write and record the song while watching Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner sing a religious song on television.
The song itself has an unexpected source of inspiration; as quoted in Wikipedia, Norman Greenbaum said in an interview: “If you ask me what I based ‘Spirit in the Sky’ on . . . what did we grow up watching? Westerns! These mean and nasty varmints get shot, and they wanted to die with their boots on. So to me that was spiritual, they wanted to die with their boots on. . . . It wasn’t like a Christian song of praise, it was just a simple song. I had to use Christianity because I had to use something. But more important it wasn’t the Jesus part, it was the spirit in the sky.’”
There have been several cover versions over the years; two that I have are by Doctor and the Medics – who also reached #1 on the U.K. charts with “Spirit in the Sky” (Gareth Gates is yet a third artist who reached Number One in the U.K. with “Spirit in the Sky”) – and by the all-female band Fuzzbox.
Norman Greenbaum was previously in a psychedelic rock band called Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band, and he sang lead vocals on their novelty hit song, “The Eggplant That Ate Chicago” (1966).
(July 2014)
