"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in late 1969. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970, and reached #3 on the US BillboardHot 100 chart, where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100, and #1 on WCFL on March 16, 1970 and on WLS on March 23, 1970, just before Easter. Billboard ranked the record the #22 song of 1970. It also climbed to #1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone ranked "Spirit in the Sky" #333 on its 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 #1 spot in the UK.
"Spirit in the Sky" makes several religious references to Jesus, although Greenbaum 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 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 and the song was included on Greenbaum's first solo album. The song's arrangement came together in the studio in San Francisco where lead guitaristRussell DaShiell, bass playerDoug Killmer from the band Crowfoot and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel worked with Greenbaum. According to The New York Times article, Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster guitar with a fuzz box built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. The resulting sound was an "oddly compelling" combination of gospel and hard rock music, with loud drums, distorted electric guitar, clapping hands, and tambourines. The production team brought in the Stovall Sisters, an Oakland-based gospel trio, to sing backing vocals. Because of the song's length and lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but 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 at the time the best-selling single ever for the Reprise label. There is a music video with Greenbaum singing the song. About the song, Greenbaum has been quoted as 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'."
"Spirit in the Sky" served as the first single from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates' second studio album, Go Your Own Way. The single was released on 14 March 2003 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.
