Each day,Rich TerfryandRadio 2 Drivewraps up your day with music and stories about the interesting things going on in the world.
RICH'S PICK:"Jungle Fever" by Chakachas
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
100 mind-blowing facts:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR:
Three times a week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol days. Today, we celebrate "Where Are They Now Week" with Norman Greenbaum and "Spirit In The Sky."
One of the biggest one hit wonders of all time isNorman Greenbaum,a Jewish guy who wrote a song about Jesus with some inspiration from a country legend, a guitar god and cowboy movies.
Listen to Rich tell you about one of the biggest one hit wonders of all time!
Norman Greenbaum was a big fan of classic westerns. He liked the idea that the heroes always wanted to "die with their boots on", as he put it. After watching a couple of cowboy movies in 1969, Greenbaum was watchingthe Porter Wagoner Showand heardWagonerandDolly Partonsing a gospel song.
He thought to himself, 'I could do that.' He sat down with a pad and paper and fifteen minutes later, a cowboy-inspired gospel song called "Spirit In The Sky" was written. More than anything else, it was a creative exercise for Greenbaum. The song has clear Christian themes, but Greenbaum was and still is devoutly Jewish.
When the song was released, guitar geeks marvelled over the sounds in the recording.Russell DaShiellof the bandCrowfoothad been hired to play guitar during the recording session. In an interview years after the release of "Spirit In The Sky", DeShiell said he used tricks he learned by closely watchingJimi Hendrixperform the song "Voodoo Child" in a small club in Madison, Wisconsin.
"Spirit In The Sky" was a huge hit, selling two million copies. And Greenbaum had fans in high places. WhenJohn Lennon gave his first interview to Rolling Stone magazine following the breakup of the Beatles, he was highly critical of the recent work of many of his peers includingBob DylanandPaul McCartney. Asked what song on the radio, if any, that he did like, he singled out "Spirit In The Sky".
Here's the song that went to #1 on the charts in Canada and in many countries around the world in 1969 and 1970, a success Norman Greenbaum never again matched in his musical career. This is "Spirit In The Sky" on Rear View Mirror.
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
Elvis Presley/Blue Suede Shoes
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles/Tracks of my Tears
Elvis Presley/Heartbreak Hotel
Bruce Cockburn/Lovers In A Dangerous Time
Bob Dylan & Jimi Hendrix/All Along The Watchtower
Phil Spector and the Ronnettes/Be My Baby
Os Mutantes/Ando Meio Desligado
Captain Beefheart/Yellow Brick Road
Elton John/Bennie and the Jets
Hank Williams/Long Gone Lonesome Blues
R.E.M./What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Tom Waits/Jockey Full of Bourbon
Buffalo Springfield/For What It's Worth
Five Man Electrical Band/Signs
Band Aid/Do They Know It's Christmas
The Pursuit of Happiness/I'm An Adult Now
Big Joe Turner/Shake Rattle and Roll
Martha and the Muffins/Echo Beach
Wilson Pickett/In The Midnight Hour
The Band/The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Animals/House of the Rising Sun
Ian and Sylvia/Four Strong Winds
James Brown/Please Please Please
John Cougar Mellencamp, 'Pink Houses'
The Ramones/I Wanna Be Sedated
U2/I Still Have't Found What I'm Looking For
Janis Joplin/Me and Bobby McGee
Gordon Lightfoot "If You Could Read My Mind"
Simon and Garfunkel "The Sound of Silence"
Bill Haley and his Comets "Rock Around The Clock"
The Velvet Underground "I'm Waiting For The Man"
Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues"
Bobby Fuller "I Fought The Law"
Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Booker T and the MGs "Green Onions"
Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World"
The Left Banke "Walk Away Renee"
Lou Reed "Walk On The Wild Side"
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
The Animals "We Gotta Get Out of this Place"
Dusty Springfield "Son of a Preacher Man"
Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You"
Mott The Hoople "All the Young Dudes"
New York Dolls "Personality Crisis"
George Jones "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"
The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends"
James Brown, 'Hot (I Need to be loved loved loved)'
Ray Charles, 'I Don't Need No Doctor'
Curtis Mayfield, 'Freddy's Dead'
Gang Starr, 'Beyond Comprehension'
CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'
Howlin' Wolf, 'Smokestack Lightning'
Bobby Womack, 'Across 110th Street'
Foggy Hogtown Boys, 'Man of Constant Sorrow'
Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here'
Neil Young, 'Cortez The Killer'
Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'
Elvis Costello, 'Watching the Detectives'
Jimmy Cliff, 'The Harder They Come'
The Verve, 'Bittersweet Symphony'
Roberta Flack, 'Killing Me Softly with his Song'
