Craft Recordings has just reissued Sixties psychedelic icon Norman Greenbaum's 1969 debut album, Spirit in the Sky. While its eponymous title track quickly became the anthem of a generation, other than an extremely limited release on Record Store Day in 2014, the LP has been out of print for fifty-five years. An entertainingly diverse album, Spirit in the Sky features a raw but engaging mix of gospel and R&B-tinged alt-country rock. The songs are often accompanied by a horn section and soulful background singers, then thoroughly drenched with a liberal dose of psychedelia and fuzz-toned guitar. When the album's title song was released as a single in December 1969, it struck a nerve with the record-buying public, and "Spirit in the Sky" quickly rocketed to the number three spot on the Billboard singles chart. With the 45 rpm single selling two million copies in less than a year, but the LP couldn't match its phenomenal success. Norman Greenbaum's brief flash of fame gave him the wherewithal to continue to record albums and tour, but his inability to replicate the song's popularity quickly vanquished him from the charts. And Greenbaum was relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, essentially remembered for a single song: "Spirit in the Sky."
Craft's reissue of Spirit in the Sky was cut from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and the LPs were pressed on 140 gram vinyl at Memphis Record Pressing. The LP was packaged in a heavy tip-on outer jacket that perfectly matches the original, with crisp artwork sourced from the label's extensive vaults. The LP was flat and perfectly centered, with nicely glossy surfaces, and arrived inserted in a protective rice paper inner sleeve. You can order a copy of Spirit in the Sky HERE; a cool, psychedelic cosmic blue swirl colored vinyl version is available for a slight upcharge exclusively at Craft's web store. The black vinyl LP can be found at a variety of online vendors and at brick and mortar locations like your favorite independent record store. And Craft has made an immersive Dolby Atmos mix of "Spirit in the Sky" available for streaming and download; you can access the remastered track on Apple Music HERE.
My personal connection to "Spirit in the Sky"
Growing up in rural North Georgia, I spent a lot of time at my Uncle Edwin's farm; he mostly grew peaches, and was an unpretensious type who was quick to share bits of earthy wisdom. Edwin worked long hours on the farm, then spent afternoons manning a roadside stand selling his peaches to passing tourists on their way to the scenic mountain country. But he always wrapped up early on Saturdays in time to park in front of the television for The Porter Wagoner Show. While I didn't completely share his enthusiasm for the music, I have to admit I was pretty fascinated by the dazzling, rhinestone-studded Nudie suits worn on the show by both Wagoner and Dolly Parton. In an interesting twist (five decades later!), my exposure to the Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton experience would come full circle in my appreciation of the music of Norman Greenbaum.
As a 12-year-old in early 1970, I regularly heard "Spirit in the Sky" on local Atlanta radio, and thought it was pretty far out! Its immense popularity was undeniable; you could barely switch on a radio where the song wasn't playing, usually multiple times an hour. My exposure to "Spirit in the Sky" intensified when a local UHF daytime-only television station, WATL Channel 36, started broadcasting a weekend program called The Now Explosion. The show took top 40 songs and matched them to intensely colorful, psychedelic visuals that often had blacklight-like effects. With stylized images of a host of go-go dancers silhouetted against the dizzyingly mesmerizing displays. The show ran on a continuous loop on weekends for roughly 14 hours a day, and you'd see the same core of songs playing constantly, back to back—it was a twelve-year-old's psychedelic wet dream, to say the least. While the show originated in Atlanta, it apparently was eventually syndicated into other markets, and ran for about a year before finally being canceled.
The two tracks I most vividly remember seeing—and I mean every hour, on the hour—were Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" and the Guess Who's "American Woman." The latter featured bikini clad go-go dancers, not at all unlike Goldie Hawn and Judy Carne from Laugh In. This was a decade before MTV, and despite the relatively crude imagery and repetitiveness, my friends and I were glued to the television on weekends—we couldn't get enough! I was already buying LPs at this point; "Spirit in the Sky" was etched in my brain, and while in record stores, I must have picked up Norman Greenbaum's LP countless times, but for some unknown reason resisted taking it to the cash register. As "Spirit in the Sky" faded from the airwaves and the collective consciousness over the following year, Greenbaum's star also grew faint, dimming to the point where I simply lost focus on his unique artistry.
Fast forward to the future, where canned "oldies" radio was suddenly a thing, and "Spirit in the Sky" started popping up everywhere, even on television ads and in movie soundtracks. LPs were virtually nonexistent by this point, and the long out-of-print Spirit in the Sky was never released as a mainstream compact disc (only by Varese Sarabande in 2000), so it also never entered my regular listening rotation. Although I did end up with a "Psychedelic Seventies" compilation disc, and finally added the song "Spirit in the Sky" to my digital music server and in my car. When I got the email from Craft announcing the LP reissue, I swear to God, my knees buckled a bit!
Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in the Sky. 140 gram Craft Recordings LP, $26
Norman Greenbaum hailed from upstate Massachusetts, and studied music at Boston University for a couple of years, slumming after hours performing at coffee houses and the like. Greenbaum headed west to Los Angeles in the mid-sixties, forming a psychedelic novelty group, Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. They had a minor hit with the song "The Eggplant that Ate Chicago," which reached number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But the group was too eccentric for the mainstream, and soon disbanded with Greenbaum going solo, continuing as a folk singer. He caught the attention of record producer Erik Jacobsen during a performance at West Hollywood's famed Troubadour; Jacobsen soon made arrangements for Greenbaum to convene in a nearby studio to begin work on Spirit in the Sky.
As Norman Greenbaum tells the story, he borrowed the song title from a greeting card he'd recently stumbled across. With the song's basic structure adapted from a performance he watched on The Porter Wagoner Show with country stars Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton (I may have been watching that very same show!). That song, "Pastor's Absent on Vacation" created the spark that eventually grew into "Spirit in the Sky," which Greenbaum originally envisioned as more of a folk song. Erik Jacobsen convinced him to dramatically rework the tune into a rock song, utilizing Greenbaum's expertise on his Fender Telecaster with its built-in fuzz box to great effect. Jacobsen enlisted a gospel trio, the Stovall Sisters, whose soaring harmonies provided the perfect contrast to Greenbaum's fuzz-toned psychedelia. Resulting in an anthemic, polyphonic juxtaposition of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton-inspired rock-and-roll that generated a once-in-a-lifetime smash hit that soared to the number one position on the charts across much of the globe.
Having never previously heard the balance of the album tracks, I didn't know what to expect, but side one kicks off with the rollicking "Junior Cadillac," a propulsively moving tune that's punctuated throughout by the staccato bursts of a great horn section. Next up, the classic title track; of course I cranked it full blast for the maximum effect, and trust me—it was The Now Explosion all over again! "Skyline" features a really cool wah-wah pedal guitar effect and vocal refrain from Greenbaum. "Jubilee" is a fun track with great sax and harmonica solos and more perfect background vocals from The Stovall Sisters. Greenbaum was a superb storyteller, and "Alice Bodine" reflects on a love lost, with a really interesting Moog accompaniment throughout. Side two opens with "Tars of India" with another effective wah-wah pedal motif, and some nifty guitar work from Greenbaum in the song's center. "The Power" brings the horns again, as Greenbaum wails on guitar in the background. The pleasant vibes of "Good Lookin' Woman" features an abundance of psychedelically-tinged guitar, as Greenbaum explains how it'll take plenty of money to keep her around! "Milk Cow" was the B-side of "Spirit in the Sky"; Greenbaum prefaces the song's verses with some great harp blowing throughout. The album closes with"Marcy," where powerful bursts of guitar, drum, and synths fuel the song's opening, with an oddly modern synthesizer and theremin vamp carrying the song through to its conclusion.
Having had Spirit in the Sky in heavy rotation for weeks, I'm baffled by how this album didn't move enough copies to shift Norman Greenbaum toward the mainstream, and away from being only a footnote in rock history. The album's production was somewhat congested, and maybe Greenbaum wasn't blessed with the greatest of voices (neither was Bob Dylan!). But Spirit in the Sky shows an abundance of creativity in Norman Greenbaum's songwriting and guitar playing—I'm actually shocked that nothing else from this entertaining album got any airplay back in the day.
Craft Recordings gives "Spirit in the Sky" its first official music video!
I was recently touching base with Craft's Jacob Kossak about another project, and he mentioned a forthcoming surprise announcement regarding Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky reissue. When that email arrived, it contained a very convincing faux movie poster, along with a YouTube link to the first ever official music video for "Spirit in the Sky," one that was actually approved by Norman Greenbaum! And as the video played, Norman even had a cameo appearance—what a great moment for him, and how incredible that Craft honored his legacy with a music video. I was actually fooled by the poster into believing that a Spirit in the Sky movie was also in the works, but Jacob gave me an "if only" response—a movie was waaaay beyond their budget for the project. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining video, and a great tribute to an iconic artist.
Norman Greenbaum in the Aftermath of Spirit in the Sky
Norman Greenbaum was obviously a much more savvy businessman than one might think based on the horror stories from so many rock stars back in the day who didn't have control of their publishing rights. Greenbaum reportedly has ownership of fifty percent of his publishing rights, and over the years that's translated into millions in residuals—according to IMDB, "Spirit in the Sky" has been licensed over 90 times for movie and television soundtracks, to the tune of around $10k per use! And the song has been covered at least 14 times, most famously by UK band Doctor and the Medics in the Eighties, with Greenbaum getting royalties from all those plays as well. It's good to know that despite the shortsightedness of listeners who failed to embrace much of music, he's nonetheless managed to carve out a living. "Spirit in the Sky" is reported to be the second most requested song played at funerals—my wife has even asked for it to be played at hers!
Thanks again to Jacob Kossak of Craft Recordings for his continual enthusiasm, his consideration, and his constant assistance—I'm so happy he brought this important reissue to my attention! At only $26 for the LP, it's an astonishing bargain, and Craft's LP reissue of Spirit in the Sky comes very highly recommended—and be sure to watch the video!
Norman Greenbaum
Craft Recordings
All images courtesy of Craft Recordings.
