Spirit In The Sky
Composed by Norman Greenbaum, at the end of the 60s, Spirit in the Sky got famous all around the world by lyrics, tune and cultural impact as well. The writer of Spirit in the Sky was inspired after listening to a gospel song on TV, and it took him no more than fifteen minutes to write the lyrics. It refers to the life after death and the Christian experience in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Though, Greenbaum is Jewish and identifies himself as such, the Christian dimension of the song did not remain hidden 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 evil doing is common to all cultures and religions, and Christianity doesn’t have exclusive rights on it. When it comes to musicality, the guitar dominates the musical economy of the song. It seems that the producers used a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz box so as to generate the preponderance of the guitar sound.
The peculiarities of Spirit in the Sky are incredible by the innovation in the sound: 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. Somehow, the producers needed to save the project, without even imagining the kind of impact the song would have on the market.
John Lennon, the famous Beatles member, expressed his great liking of Spirit in the Sky, 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 made a statement that was to become the foundation stone of glam rock development and the more extensive usage of electronic technologies in music making. Due to its message and sound specificity, Spirit in the Sky met the necessities of film making too, being included in over twenty movies.
