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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 made him one of the most famous acts with a best-selling one-hit wonder for all time.
Norman Greenbaum went solo as a folk artist and submitted an original song, "Spirit in the Sky", to Reprise Records. His demonstration recording was a simple folk rendition, with Greenbaum accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Reprise sent Greenbaum to staff producer Erik Jacobsen, who radically rearranged the song for a new recording session. The updated version had pulsing electric guitar, gospel-styled backup singers, and an insistent rhythm accompanying Greenbaum, whose vocal was now double-tracked. Reprise released the record in late 1969, and it skyrocketed to #1 in almost all worldwide markets. It sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970 and received a gold disc from the RIAA. It has been used in many films, advertisements, and television shows.
Although "Spirit in the Sky" has a clear Christians theme, Greenbaum is Jewish, having grown up in an observant Orthodox Jewish household, although he no longer practices the religion. He says that he was inspired to write the song after watching a Christian-themed song performed by Porter Wagoner on television. Greenbaum said Western film were a major inspiration for "Spirit in the Sky":
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... 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?
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.
Without a full band and backup singers for "Spirit in the Sky" as used in the recording studio, it was impractical for Greenbaum to replicate the recording in live performances. A key element to the song was a distinctive alternating diving sound from the lead guitar. Some twenty years later Eddie Van Halen re-created it by wiring a simple momentary contact switch into his guitar and tapping it while depressing the vibrato arm. As with most other televised performances of the day, Greenbaum's 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 on the Canadian charts. After the release in 1972 of his album Petaluma (named after the city in California where he has lived), 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.
| 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. | ||||||||||
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