Spirit in the sky norman greenbaum wiki

"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by Norman Greenbaum who set out to write a religious rock song. He is Jewish, but instead of using a Jewish word for God, he used "Jesus" because he thought it would be more marketable.

The original inspiration for this was a song about a preacher by Country singer Porter Waggoner. Greenbaum was also influenced by Folk revival music and traditional Southern Blues.

It took months for Greenbaum to finish the music, but the lyrics came really quickly. (Thanks to Norman for telling us about this song)

Greenbaum began his musical career while a student at Boston University, playing area coffeehouses before relocating to the West Coast during the mid-'60s and forming Dr. West's Medicine Show and Jugband. The now-defunct band had one hit, "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago," and broke up in 1968. The group was characterized as a psychedelic jug band - "jugs" like Southern moonshiners used were blown to make sound. The band also used a washboard bass. (Thanks, Stevie - Louisville, KY)

Greenbaum used to run a goat farm.

This has been used in many TV shows and films, including Contact and Wayne's World II. It was also used in a popular American Express commercial. (Thanks, Amy - Chicago, IL)

In the movie Apollo 13, the astronauts play this as the background music and theme song for their TV appearances. Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell has since stated that the real theme song was "Aquarius," as Aquarius was the name of the Lunar Landing Module that ultimately served as the crew's "lifeboat" when the mission went awry. (thanks, justin - Canton, IL)

In the UK, this song has reached #1 3 times by 3 different acts. The first was Greenbaum's version in 1970, then in 1986 Doctor And The Medics took it to #1, and finally in 2003 for Gareth Gates And The Kumars.

One hit wonders Doctor & The Medics lead singer Clive Jackson admitted in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "We love Norman and 'Spirit In The Sky' although w

"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold 2 million copies in 1969 and 1970 and got to number 3 in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone ranked "Spirit in the Sky" #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.

Original version by Norman Greenbaum

Greenbaum had previously been a member of psychedelic jug band Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. When they split up he won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen, who had previously worked successfully with The Lovin' Spoonful. He was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner on TV singing a gospel song. Greenbaum later said : "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes."

"Spirit in the Sky" contains lyrics about the afterlife, making several references to Jesus. However, Greenbaum, who identifies himself as Jewish, stated that he had no particular religious intentions with the song.

Greenbaum recorded his first solo album with Jacobsen for Reprise Records. The song's arrangement came together in the studio in San Francisco where lead guitarist Russell DaShiell, bass player Doug Killmer and drummer Norman Mayall worked with Greenbaum. According to one source and to DaShiell, Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz box built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. Moreover, DaShiell explained how he created the song's distinctive "beeping" fills:

I actually played the lead guitar parts on Spirit, using a 61-62 SG Les Paul, a 68 Marshall Ple

1969 studio album by Norman Greenbaum

Spirit in the Sky is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum. It contains his popular hit song, the title track "Spirit in the Sky".

Varèse Sarabande released it on CD in 2001, with seven bonus tracks, and on vinyl for Record Store Day, on April 19, 2014.

Track listing

All selections written by Norman Greenbaum.

Side 1

1. "Junior Cadillac" – 3:38
2. "Spirit in the Sky" – 4:02
3. "Skyline" – 3:14
4. "Jubilee" – 3:01
5. "Alice Bodine" – 3:42

Side 2

CD bonus tracks

References

1969 song by Norman Greenbaum

For other uses, see Spirit in the Sky (disambiguation).

For a deity associated with the sky, see Spirit of the sky.

"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from his album Spirit in the Sky. The single became a gold record in the United States, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970, and reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 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 No. 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970.

Rolling Stone ranked "Spirit in the Sky" No. 333 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Cover versions by Doctor and the Medics and Gareth Gates have also made the No. 1 spot in the UK. The song was voted one of the top ten one-hit wonders in a Rolling Stone reader's poll.

Original version by Norman Greenbaum

"Spirit in the Sky" makes several religious references to Jesus, but Greenbaum himself is Jewish. In a 2006 interview with The New York Times, Greenbaum told a reporter he was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner singing a gospel song on TV. Greenbaum said: "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes." Greenbaum had previously been a member of psychedelicjug bandDr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. When they split up, he won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen for Reprise Records. Jacobsen had previously worked with the Lovin' Spoonful.

Greenbaum first arranged the song for an acoustic jug band; then he tried a folk version