Spirit I

"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. It also climbed to No. 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone ranked "Spirit in the Sky" No. 333 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Cover versions by Doctor and the Medics and Gareth Gates have also made the No. 1 spot in the UK. The song was voted one of the top ten one-hit wonders in a Rolling Stone reader's poll. In 2025, Craft Recordings released the first official music video to the song. Set across Southern California, the coming of age story was directed by filmmaker Laurence Harlan Jacobs and stars Conor Sherry and Abby Ryder Fortson, with a cameo from Greenbaum himself.