Norman Greenbaum
Norman Greenbaum | |
---|---|
Birth name | Norman Joel Greenbaum |
Born | Malden, Massachusetts, U.S. | November 20, 1942
Genres | Rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1965–present |
Formerly of | Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band |
Spouse(s) |
Victoria Sue Bodnar
(m. 1969; div. 1973) |
Website | spiritinthesky |
Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his 1969–1970 hit song "Spirit in the Sky". The song is one of the most famous and best-selling one hit-wonders of all time.[1][2]
Early life
Greenbaum was born in
Career
In the late 1960s, Norman Greenbaum was the leader and composer for Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band, which recorded the novelty hit "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago".[5] The group's psychedelic approach was too eccentric for mainstream show business; the group's name suggested a novelty or comedy act incorporating music.
Greenbaum went solo as a folk artist and submitted an original song, "
Although "Spirit in the Sky" has a clear Christian theme, Greenbaum was and remains an observant Jew.[4][3] Greenbaum says he was inspired to write the song after watching a Christian-themed song performed by Porter Wagoner on television.[7] Greenbaum also stated Western movies were a major inspiration for "Spirit in the Sky":[8]
Norman Greenbaum: If you ask me what I based "Spirit in the Sky" on ... what did we grow up watching? Westerns! These mean and nasty varmints get shot and they wanted to die with their boots on. So to me that was spiritual, they wanted to die with their boots on.
Ray Shasho: So that was the trigger that got you to write the song?
Norman Greenbaum: Yes. The song itself was simple, when you're writing a song you keep it simple of course. It wasn't like a Christian song of praise it was just a simple song. I had to use Christianity because I had to use something. But more important it wasn't the Jesus part, it was the spirit in the sky. Funny enough ... I wanted to die with my boots on.
All of the accoutrements added to "Spirit in the Sky" in the recording studio made it impossible for Greenbaum to replicate the recording in live performances. His televised appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand compelled the singer to synchronize his performance to a playback of the hit record.
Greenbaum's upbeat "Canned Ham" followed in 1970, and the record reached number 46 on the American charts and number 26 in the Canadian charts.[citation needed]
After the release in 1972 of his album Petaluma (named after his home town in California), Greenbaum left the music business and returned to his dairy farm. He returned to the music industry as a manager and promoter in the mid-1980s. [9]
Personal life
Greenbaum has been a long-time resident of Santa Rosa, California.[4] On March 28, 2015, he was critically injured when a car, in which he was a passenger, made a left turn in the path of a motorcycle on Occidental Road, killing the motorcyclist and injuring the motorcycle passenger.[10] Greenbaum has since gone back to performing.[11]
Discography
with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band
- The Eggplant That Ate Chicago (1967)
- Norman Greenbaum with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band (1969, compilation)
- Euphoria: The Best of Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band (1998, compilation)
Solo
- Spirit in the Sky (1969)
- Back Home Again (1970)
- Petaluma (1972)
- Spirit in the Sky: The Best of Norman Greenbaum (1995, compilation)
- Spirit in the Sky: The Best of Norman Greenbaum (1997, compilation)
- Spirit in the Sky: The Definitive Anthology (2003, compilation)
Singles
Year | Single | Chart positions | Certifications | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [12][13] |
BE (WA) [14] |
CAN [15][16] |
GER [17] |
IRE [18] |
NL [19] |
UK
[20] |
US [21][22] | |||
1966 | "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago" (with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 52 | |
1967 | "Gondoliers, Shakespeares, Overseers, Playboys and Bums" (with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"You Can Fly" (with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1968 | "Bullets la Verne" / "Jigsaw" (with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"School for Sweet Talk" (as Dr. Norman Greenbaum) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1969 | "Marcy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Jubilee" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Spirit in the Sky" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ||
1970 | "Canned Ham" | 51 | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | 46 | |
"I.J. Foxx" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Lucille Got Stealed" (France-only release) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1971 | "California Earthquake" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 93 | |
"Twentieth Century Fox" (Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1972 | "Petaluma" (promo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
1974 | "Nancy Whiskey" (Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band) (UK-only release) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
See also
References
- ^ Greene, Andy (May 4, 2011). "Poll: Top 10 One-Hit Wonders". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ "VH1 - 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders (Music Database :: Dave Tompkins)". cs.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58465-303-5.
- ^ a b c McNichol, Tom (December 24, 2006). "A 'Spirit' From the '60s That Won't Die". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-89820-139-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ McNichol, Tom (December 24, 2006). "A 'Spirit' From the '60s That Won't Die". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ Shasho, Ray (December 23, 2011). "Exclusive: Norman Greenbaum reveals the true origin of 'Spirit In The Sky'". Classic Rock Music Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ^ "Norman Greenbaum biography". IMDB. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ "Crash west of Santa Rosa kills motorcyclist; singer Norman Greenbaum hospitalized". The Press Democrat. March 28, 2015.
- ^ Freedman, Richard (December 21, 2016). "December 22 Vallejo A&E Source: Greenbaum keeps finding the 'Spirit in the Sky'". Vallejo Times Herald.
- ^ Grant. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1970". Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "ultratop.be – ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Fireball Media Group. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Dutch Charts – dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "NORMAN GREENBAUM | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Norman Greenbaum". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Norman Greenbaum – Spirit in the Sky". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Norman Greenbaum at AllMusic
- Norman Greenbaum discography at Discogs
- Norman Greenbaum at IMDb
- Norman Greenbaum with Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band album at the Internet Archive