Norman Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942, Malden, Massachusetts, United States) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for writing and performing his hit song Spirit in the Sky, which sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970. Speaking with Songfacts about the song, Greenbaum said he set out to write a religious rock song, and he is Jewish. Instead of using a Jewish word for God, he used “Jesus” because he thought it would be more marketable. It took months for Greenbaum to finish the music, but the lyrics came really quickly. The song, with its combination of ‘heavy’ guitar, hand-clapping, and spiritual lyrics was a memorable one-hit wonder.
Though Greenbaum is generally regarded as a one-hit wonder; several of his records placed prominently in the charts. In 1968, under the name Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band, he recorded the novelty hit “The Eggplant That Ate Chicago”.
Greenbaum initial interest in music was sparked by southern blues music and the folk music that was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He performed with various bands in high school and studied music at Boston University for two years. In college he performed at local coffeehouses but eventually dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1965. |
