Spirit in the Sky is the song composed by Norman Greenbaum in the late 60s that made history all around the world by lyrics, tune and cultural impact as well. The writer of Spirit in the Sky found his inspiration after listening to a gospel song on TV, and he put the lyrics down in fifteen minutes. It refers to the afterlife and the essence of Christ's sacrifice. Despite Greenbaum's Jewish origins, the Christian dimension of the song did not go unnoticed even if the author claimed that his intention was not that of imbuing the song with religious fervor.
The explanation for the Christian references to sinning that are obvious in Spirit in the Sky are explained by Greenbaum as an attempt to reach to broader audiences, particularly since the concept of wrong doing is common to all cultures and religions, and Christianity doesn't have exclusive rights on it. In terms of sound print, the guitar is the dominant note in the rhythm of the song. It seems that a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz box inside was used in order to to make the sound guitar preponderant.
The characteristics of Spirit in the Sky are amazing by the new sound imprint: psychedelic rock music meets gospel in a combination of tambourines, hand clapping, great drum playing and distorted electric guitar. Though Spirit in the Sky proved a hit, the start was rather small as the record company showed was skeptical about its success because of the uncommon lyrics and original style. Spirit in the Sky saved the album it was part of, since it followed two other single releases which were rated as failures. In a sort of way, the producing company felt compelled to try and save the boat, without even imagining the kind of impact the song would have on the market.
John Lennon rated Spirit in the Sky as a great song, while the Rolling Stones ranked it on the 333rd position in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Even so, the song hit in the charts in Australia, Canada, USA and United Kingdom, and it had an impact for the foundation stone of glam rock evolution and the more extensive usage of electronic technologies in music making. Due to its content and sound specificity, Spirit in the Sky met the necessities of film making too, being performed in more than twenty films.
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