Spirit In The Sky Chartbuster

Spirit in the Sky is a chartbuster penned by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The 1969 single has sold out over 2 millions in the early seventies. It went up fetching high spots that went up to number three in the United States Billboard, while in the UK charts it turned Numero Uno in 1970.

Spirit in the Sky also featured in a 1969 album of the same name. The Cover versions were made by Doctor and the Medics and Gareth Gates which helped the song clinch the number 1 spot in the UK charts. Earlier Greenbaum had been a member of the Psychedelic jug band, Dr. Wests Medicine Show and Junk Band.

The lyrics of Spirit in the Sky speak about the afterlife and make a number of references to Lord Jesus and Christianity. Greenbaum who believes in the faith of Judaism professed that he had no religious intonations with the songs. His simple ambition was to keep a higher mark in the music market.

The arrangement of the song Spirit in the Sky was done in a sound studio in San Francisco. It was here that Greenbaum first recorded his solo track with Jacobsen under the music label of Reprise Records. The production team of the song had Stovall Sisters a music group based at Oakland for singing the backing vocals.

Greenbaum himself is attributed as a Fender Telecaster with a Fuzz Box. He is attributed with the song Spirit in the Sky especially the Guitar Sound. The sound that resulted was not only original but had a unique combination of psychedelic punk rock music combination and drums, distorted electric guitar, clappers and tambourines with a female chorus.

Spirit in the Sky is known especially for its music quality that is accompanied with good lyrics. At first the record companies were not agreeing for its release, but it was brought out in open as a single after two other singles from the song compilation did not do well in the market. The song became an international hit and after sometime the best seller sold out as one of the best selling singles ever by the Reprise Music label.

Spirit in the Sky was rated by the rock music group, Rolling Stone as number 333 in a list of 500 Greatest Songs of All time. Greenbaum once remarked about the song that it has an evergreen nature and sounds the best even when it is heard today, after so many years of being recorded. The song has featured in a number of movies like- Superstar, Saving Grace, Michael, and Apollo 13 besides Remember the Titans, Oceans Eleven, Miami Blues and Evan Almighty. Wikipedia

Spirit In The Sky Chartbuster