Spirit in 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 the album of the same name.[2] 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[4] where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. Billboard ranked the record the No. 22 song of 1970.[5] 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.

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"
side-A label by Eric Records
Side A of the 1989 US reissue
Single by Norman Greenbaum
from the album Spirit in the Sky
B-side"Milk Cow"
Released
  • December 1969 (UK)
  • January 1970 (US)
Recorded1968
StudioCoast Recorders, San Francisco
Genre
Length4:02
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Norman Greenbaum
Producer(s)Erik Jacobsen
Official audio
"Spirit in the Sky" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Spirit in the Sky"
  • file
  • help

The song was voted one of the top ten one-hit wonders in a Rolling Stone reader's poll.[6]

Original version by Norman Greenbaum

"Spirit in the Sky" makes several religious references to Jesus, although 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."[2]

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 for Reprise Records. Jacobsen had previously worked with the Lovin' Spoonful.[2]

Greenbaum first arranged the song for acoustic jug band, then he tried a folk version, and then a Delta blues style, but none of these were satisfactory. Under Jacobsen's direction, the song started to gel at Coast Recorders[7] studio on Bush Street in San Francisco, with Jacobsen's chosen session players Russell DaShiell on guitar, Doug Killmer from the band Crowfoot on bass, and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel.[8] Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster guitar with an overdrive circuit built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. Jacobsen finally brought in the Stovall Sisters (Joyce, Lillian and Netta) from Oakland to support the song with gospel hand percussion and vocal stylings, joined by additional singers.[2]

The resulting sound was an "oddly good and compelling"[2] combination of boogie, blues,[7] gospel and hard rock music, with loud drums, distorted electric guitar, clapping hands, and tambourines. Because of the song's length and lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but it was finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. "Spirit in the Sky" became a worldwide hit, and was for a time the best-selling single for the Reprise label.[2]

Later albums and singles by Greenbaum were not embraced by the market. By the 1980s, Greenbaum had abandoned his music career and was working as a sous-chef and restaurant kitchen manager.[2]

The song was reworked by Doctor and the Medics in June 1986, achieving chart success in the UK.[9] This cover version was heard in the 1987 film Maid to Order, catalyzing renewed media interest in the original song.[2] The original version is heard in the films Miami Blues (1990), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), and Ocean's Eleven (2001). Kellogg's cereal tapped the song for a television advertisement in 1997.[9], and it was the highlight of a lengthy television commercial for Nike shoes in 2005.[2]

Greenbaum reflected about the song in 2011, saying, "It sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded. I've gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it's their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to 'Danny Boy'."[10]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Doctor and the Medics version
"Spirit in the Sky"
Single by Doctor and the Medics
from the album Laughing at the Pieces
B-side"Laughing at the Pieces"
ReleasedApril 28, 1986 (1986-04-28)[33]
Genre
Length3:28
LabelI.R.S. Records
Songwriter(s)Norman Greenbaum
Producer(s)Craig Leon assisted by Cassell Webb
Doctor and the Medics singles chronology
"The Miracle of the Age"
(1985)		 "Spirit in the Sky"
(1986)		 "Burn"
(1986)

In June 1986, Doctor and the Medics reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with their version of the song, spending three weeks at the top.[36] In New Zealand, the song reached No. 2 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, while in Canada, it peaked at No. 1 for a week and was the fifth-highest-selling single of 1986. The song has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

Weekly charts
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[37] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[38] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[39] 29
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[40] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[41] 15
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[43] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[44] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[45] 16
UK Singles (OCC)[36] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[46] 69
US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[46] 27
West Germany (Official German Charts)[47] 9

Year-end charts
Chart (1986) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[48] 28
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[49] 16
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[50] 5
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[51] 59
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[52] 48
UK Singles (OCC)[53] 15
West Germany (Official German Charts)[54] 60

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[55] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Gareth Gates (with the Kumars) version
"Spirit in the Sky"
Single by Gareth Gates with the Kumars
from the album Go Your Own Way
B-side
ReleasedMarch 10, 2003 (2003-03-10)
Recorded2003
Length3:29
Label
Songwriter(s)Norman Greenbaum
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Gareth Gates singles chronology
"What My Heart Wants to Say"
(2002)		 "Spirit in the Sky"
(2003)		 "Sunshine"
(2003)
Music video
"Spirit in the Sky" by Gareth Gates featuring The Kumars on YouTube

"Spirit in the Sky" served as the first single from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates's second studio album, Go Your Own Way. The single was released on March 10, 2003,[57] and was the official Comic Relief charity single for 2003. The song features guest vocals from the Kumars. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gates' fourth number-one single.[58] Gates' version has been certified platinum by BPI in the UK.

Track listing

UK CD1[59]

  1. "Spirit in the Sky" (with the Kumars)
  2. "Dance Again"
  3. "Spirit in the Sky"
  4. "Spirit in the Sky" (video)

UK CD2[60]

  1. "Spirit in the Sky" (with the Kumars)
  2. "Will You Wait for Me?"
  3. Interview with Gareth Gates

UK cassette single[61]

  1. "Spirit in the Sky" (with the Kumars)
  2. "Dance Again"
  3. "Will You Wait for Me?"

UK DVD single[62]

  1. "Spirit in the Sky" (video)
  2. Making of "Spirit in the Sky" (video)
  3. "Dance Again" (video)
  4. Interview with the Kumars (video)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[79] Platinum 600,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

A version by Dorothy Combs Morrison reached No. 99 on Billboard's Hot 100 in October 1970,[80] and No. 47 in Canada during November of that same year.[81]

See also

References
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  2. McNichol, Tom (December 24, 2006). "A 'Spirit' From the '60s That Won't Die". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  3. Unterberger, Richie. "Spirit in the Sky on Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 24, 2013. "The handclaps and riffs ... simmered down a little to allow Greenbaum to sing a tune which really did sound like a genuine gospel song ..."
  4. "Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbaum | Billboard The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  5. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970
  6. Greene, Andy (May 4, 2011). "Poll: Top 10 One-Hit Wonders". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  7. Sarah Hill, ed. (2022). One-Hit Wonders: An Oblique History of Popular Music. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 40. ISBN 9781501368431.
  8. Goldberg, Michael (September 10, 1987). "Sopwith Camel: Where Are They Now?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  9. Davis, Sharon (2012). "May 1970: Norman Greenbaum – Spirit in the Sky". Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Seventies. Random House. ISBN 9781780574103.
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  60. Spirit in the Sky (UK CD2 liner notes). Gareth Gates, the Kumars. 19 Recordings, S Records, RCA Records, BMG. 2003. 82876 511202.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  61. Spirit in the Sky (UK cassette single sleeve). Gareth Gates, the Kumars. 19 Recordings, S Records, RCA Records, BMG. 2003. 82876 511194.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  62. Spirit in the Sky (UK DVD single liner notes). Gareth Gates, the Kumars. 19 Recordings, S Records, RCA Records, BMG. 2003. 82876 50838 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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