Norman Greenbaum – "Spirit in the Sky" (1969)

Never been a sinner

I never sinned

In 2011, the readers of Rolling Stone magazine were asked to vote for their favorite one-hit wonders of all time.  “Spirit in the Sky” was voted #3.

Today, that record joins several other memorable one-hit wonders (e.g., “96 Tears” and “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”) in the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE’ HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.

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Norman Greenbaum’s greatest claim to fame prior to “Spirit in the Sky” was “The Eggplant That Ate Chicago,” a 1967 novelty record released by a Greenbaum-led psychedelic group named Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band.

Norman Greenbaum in 1969

Greenbaum was inspired to write “Spirit in the Sky” after seeing the flamboyant country singer Porter Wagoner perform a gospel song on television:

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.

I always assumed that Greenbaum was a “Jews for Jesus” type who had written today’s featured song after converting to Christianity, but he remains an observant Jew.  

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Greenbaum submitted a simple, acoustic-guitar-accompanied demo of the song to his record company.  But producer Erik Jacobsen had a radically different vision of the record, juicing up the very simple song with heavily-distorted electric guitar, lots of drums, and a local female gospel trio as backup singers.

The result was a #3 hit single that remained in the Billboard “Hot 100” for 15 weeks, and sold two million copies.

It’s been covered frequently, and is featured in a number of movie soundtracks.

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Nothing about “Spirit in the Sky” sounds like any other single from the “golden decade” era.  Hit songs rarely have a religious theme, and I can’t think of another record with a more distinctive arrangement.  It sounded great when it was released 50-odd years ago, and it sounds just as good today.    

Norman Greenbaum in 2020

A few years ago, Greenbaum – who has lived off “Spirit in the Sky” royalties for decades – told a interviewer that he has heard from funeral directors who have said that only “Danny Boy” is requested more often by people arranging funeral services.  

I find that a little hard to believe, but what do I know?

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Click here to listen to “Spirit in the Sky.”

Click on the link below to buy the record from Amazon: