Norman Joel Greenbaum is an American singer-songwriter, known for his 1969 hit song "Spirit in the Sky". The song made him one of the most famous acts with a best-selling one-hit wonder of all time.
real name: Norman Joel Greenbaum
labels: Reprise Records
genres: rock music
plays: voice
member of: Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band
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Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and attended Hebrew school at Congregation Beth Israel. His initial interest in music was sparked by southern blues music and the folk music which was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He performed with various bands in high school and studied music at Boston University in Boston for two years. In college, he performed at local coffeehouses but eventually dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1965.
In the late 1960s, 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". The group's psychedelic approach was too eccentric for mainstream show business; the group's name suggested a novelty or comedy act incorporating music.
Underlined songs have their story further down.
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, and released in December 1969 from his album Spirit in the Sky. The single became a Gold record in the United States, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970.
It reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 22 song of 1970.