Spirit in the Sky
1969 song by Norman Greenbaum
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by 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, and 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.
Original version by Norman Greenbaum.
"Spirit in the Sky" makes several religious references to Jesus, though Greenbaum himself is Jewish. In a 2006 interview with "The New York Times", Greenbaum told a reporter he was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner singing a gospel song on TV. Greenbaum said: "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes." Greenbaum had previously been a member of psychedelic jug band Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. When they split up, he won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen for Reprise Records. Jacobsen had previously worked with the Lovin' Spoonful.
Greenbaum first arranged the song for an acoustic jug band; then he tried a folk version and then a Delta blues style, but none of these were satisfactory. Under Jacobsen's direction, the song started to gel at Coast Recorders studio on Bush Street in San Francisco, with Jacobsen's chosen session players Russell DaShiell on guitar, Doug Killmer from the band Crowfoot on bass, and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel. Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster guitar with a fuzz-tone circuit built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. Jacobsen finally brought in the Stovall Sisters (Joyce, Lillian, and Netta) from Oakland to support the song with gospel hand percussion and vocal stylings, joined by additional singers.
The resulting sound was an "oddly good and compelling" combination of boogie rock (of which genre the song is considered one of the first examples), blues, gospel and hard rock music, with loud drums, distorted electric guitar, clapping hands, and tambourines. Because of the song's length and lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but it was finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. "Spirit in the Sky" became a worldwide hit and was the best-selling single for the Reprise label. In his famous 1970 "Lennon Remembers" interview for "Rolling Stone", John Lennon stated that he liked the song. Music historian Simon Reynolds has referred to the sound of "Spirit in the Sky" as "proto-glam".
The song received criticism from some Christians for including the lines, "Never been a sinner/I've never sinned/I got a friend in Jesus", as most Christian views on sin state that "there is no one who has never sinned". Greenbaum had explained that because he was not a Christian, he had been unaware of that when he wrote the song. In an interview with "American Songwriter", he said, "I did flub it I guess, cause if I was a Christian and was writing from that mindset, I would have said, 'I've been a sinner' ... But since I didn't have that upbringing, it never occurred to me that it was wrong." While some Christian artists have recorded the song using Greenbaum's original lyrics, others have changed those lines, such as DC Talk, who instead sang, "You know I've been a sinner/We've all sinned".
Later albums and singles by Greenbaum were not embraced by the market. By the 1980s, Greenbaum had abandoned his music career and worked as a sous-chef and restaurant kitchen manager.
The song was reworked by Doctor and the Medics in June 1986, achieving chart success in the UK. This cover version was heard in the 1987 film "Maid to Order", catalyzing renewed media interest in the original song. The original version is heard in the films "Miami Blues" (1990), "Wayne's World 2" (1993), "Apollo 13" (1995), "Remember the Titans" (2000), "Ocean's Eleven" (2001), "The Sandlot 2" (2005), "Katie and Orbie", "Lovelace" (2013), "Suicide Squad", and "The Founder" (2016). Kellogg's cereal tapped the song for a television advertisement in 1997, and it was the highlight of a lengthy television commercial for Nike shoes in 2005. Greenbaum reflected on the song in 2011, saying, "It sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded. I've gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it's their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to 'Danny Boy'."
Charts.
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Doctor and the Medics version.
In June 1986, Doctor and the Medics reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with their version of "Spirit in the Sky", spending three weeks at the top. In New Zealand, the song reached No. 2 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, while in Canada, it peaked at No. 1 for a week and was the fifth-highest-selling single of 1986. The song has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).
Gareth Gates (with the Kumars) version.
"Spirit in the Sky" served as the first single from "Pop Idol" runner-up Gareth Gates's second studio album, "Go Your Own Way". The single was released on March 10, 2003, and was the official "Comic Relief" charity single for 2003. The song features guest vocals from the Kumars. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gates' fourth number-one single. Gates' version has been certified platinum by BPI in the UK.
Track listings.
UK CD1
UK CD2
UK cassette single
UK DVD single
Charts.
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Other versions.
A version by Dorothy Combs Morrison reached No. 99 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100 in October 1970, and No. 47 in Canada during November of that same year.
In popular culture.
Since the 1970s, Manchester United fans have used the song as the base for a chant to support George Best.
The campaign for opens with a cutscene featuring the song.
References.
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Spirit in the Sky (disambiguation)
"Spirit in the Sky" is a 1969 song by Norman Greenbaum, later covered by other artists.
Spirit in the Sky may also refer to:
See also.
Topics referred to by the same term
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 This page lists associated with the title .

Spirit in the Sky (album)
Spirit in the Sky is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum. It contains his popular hit song, the title track "Spirit in the Sky".
Varèse Sarabande released it on CD in 2001, with seven bonus tracks, and on vinyl for Record Store Day, on April 19, 2014.
Track listing.
All selections written by Norman Greenbaum.
Side 1
Side 2
CD bonus tracks
References.
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Norman Greenbaum
American singer-songwriter
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 makes Greenbaum one of the most famous and best-selling one-hit wonders of all time.
Early life.
Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised 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 that was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He performed with various bands in high school and studied music at Boston University for two years. In college he performed at local coffeehouses but eventually dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1965.
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". 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, "Spirit in the Sky", to Reprise Records. His demonstration recording was a simple folk rendition, with Greenbaum accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Reprise handed Greenbaum to staff producer Erik Jacobsen, who radically rearranged the song for a new recording session. The updated version now 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 subsequently been used in many films, advertisements, and television shows.
Although "Spirit in the Sky" has a clear Christian theme, Greenbaum is Jewish, having grown up in an observant Orthodox Jewish household, although he no longer practices the religion. Greenbaum says he was inspired to write the song after watching a Christian-themed song performed by Porter Wagoner on television. Greenbaum also stated Western movies 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. 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.
After the release in 1972 of his album "Petaluma" (named after his hometown 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.
Personal life.
Greenbaum has been a long-time resident of Santa Rosa, California. On March 28, 2015, he was seriously 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. Greenbaum has since gone back to performing.
References.
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Spirit in the Sky (Keiino song)
2019 song by Keiino
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by Norwegian music group Keiino. It was released as a digital download and for streaming on 25 January 2019 as the lead single from their debut studio album "Okta". It represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was performed during the second semi-final on 16 May 2019, and qualified for the final. It placed first in the televote with 291 points and finished in sixth place with 331 points overall.
Background.
The song is an uptempo number, inspired by 80s disco and dance music, which has been described as dance-pop, electropop, yoik, and Sami folk music. It is about the struggles for equal rights regardless of ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality, given their long struggle in pursuit of equal rights. The music video of "Spirit in the Sky" was released on 4 April 2019.
It contains some lyrics in the Northern Sami language, ("Show me the light") and the non-lexical vocables, "He lå e loi la" as part of the yoiking segment.
Eurovision Song Contest.
The song was selected to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, after Keiino were chosen through "Melodi Grand Prix 2019", the music competition that selects Norway's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 16 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. After all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the show's producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Norway performed in position 15, and qualified for the final, which took place on 18 May 2019. It placed first in the televote with 291 points and overall finished in sixth place with 331 points.
References.
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Sky (Faye Wong album)
Sky (Chinese: 天空; pinyin: "Tiān kōng"), is the second Mandarin studio album (ninth overall) recorded by Chinese singer Faye Wong. It was released on 10 November 1994 under Cinepoly Records.
Songs.
"Elude" is a Mandarin version of Wong's Cantonese song "Dream Person", which was included on "Random Thoughts" and featured in "Chungking Express". The song is a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams". Both versions are still played frequently in Chinese media.
Use in other media.
"Angel" was the ending theme music for "Mermaid Got Married" and was also featured in an episode of "Princess Angel."
Charts.
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References.
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The Falling Sky
"The Falling Sky" is a song by American rock band Greta Van Fleet. It was released as the third single from their third album, "Starcatcher".
Background.
The song was written while the band was working on their third album and recorded during the "Starcatcher" sessions in 2022. They debuted the song on March 24, 2023, during their Dreams in Gold Tour, and the track was released to the public on June 27, 2023, on digital media.
Live performances.
The song was performed during the Dreams in Gold Tour and the Starcatcher Tour.
Composition.
Guitarist Jake Kiska said "'The Falling Sky' demonstrates the darkness and barbarity in a world filled with such duality. In essence, a reminder of the complexity of the human soul and all it is capable of enduring; a letter of love written to the rising sun."
The song features a harmonica solo from vocalist Josh Kiszka in the bridge of the song.
Reception.
The song reached number 22 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock chart. In its review of the song, "TheMusicalHype" said "'The Falling Sky' isn't perfect but the energy and intensity throughout the course of the record is undeniable."
References.
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Spirit in the Dark (song)
"Spirit in the Dark" is a song written and performed by Aretha Franklin. The song was produced by Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, and Tom Dowd.
Background.
Aretha Franklin's recording of "Spirit in the Dark" features the Dixie Flyers. The song appeared on her 1970 album, "Spirit in the Dark".
Chart performance.
The song reached #3 on the U.S. R&B chart and #23 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1970.
References.
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Blue Sky (song)
"Blue Sky" is a song by the American rock band The Allman Brothers Band from their third studio album, "Eat a Peach" (1972), released on Capricorn Records. The song was written and sung by guitarist Dickey Betts, who penned it about his girlfriend (and later wife), Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig. The track is also notable as one of guitarist Duane Allman's final recorded performances with the group. The band's two guitarists, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, alternate playing the song's lead: Allman's solo beginning 1:07 in, Betts joining in a shared melody line at 2:28, followed by Betts's solo at 2:37. The song is notably more country-inspired than many songs in the band's catalogue.
Background.
His debut as a vocalist for the band, Dickey Betts composed "Blue Sky" about his Indigenous Canadian girlfriend, Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig, whom he would later marry. The lyrics leave out any references to gender to make it nonspecific: "Once I got into the song I realized how nice it would be to keep the vernaculars—he and she—out and make it like you’re thinking of the spirit, like I was giving thanks for a beautiful day. I think that made it broader and more relatable to anyone and everyone," he later said. Betts initially wanted the band's lead vocalist, Gregg Allman, to sing the song, but guitarist Duane Allman encouraged him to sing it himself: "Man, this is your song and it sounds like you and you need to sing it." An embryonic version of the song can be found on the fan bootleg, "The Gatlinburg Tapes", a recording of the band jamming in April 1971 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The song was one of Duane Allman's last recorded performances with the band. "As I mixed songs like "Blue Sky," I knew, of course, that I was listening to the last things that Duane ever played and there was just such a mix of beauty and sadness, knowing there's not going to be any more from him," said Johnny Sandlin.
Alternate versions.
While Duane Allman died before "Eat a Peach's" release, the band played the song live several times before and after the album's studio version was recorded. Only one of these performances, recorded live during a , has been released by the band; several bootleg recordings from other shows circulate. Two versions of "Blue Sky" were being performed as of 2012: An Allman Brothers take on the SUNY Stony Brook/Eat a Peach original (with Warren Haynes on lead vocals, though Gregg Allman does them sometimes), and an arrangement which evolved between 1973 and 2001 played by Dickey Betts and his band Great Southern.
Cover versions.
In 2018 singer and guitarist Frank Hannon released a cover of "Blue Sky" featuring Dickey Betts' son Duane Betts on guitar. Frank Hannon is the son-in-law of Dickey Betts. The cover album titled "From one place...to Another! Vol.1" reached #27 on Billboards Folk / Americana charts.
"Blue Sky" has been covered several times in the past including by Joan Baez on her 1975 album "Diamonds & Rust", also released as a single.
Notes.
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References.
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Sources.
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Fire in the Sky (song)
"Fire in the Sky" is a song recorded by American country music group Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The song was first released in 1981 and peaked at number 76 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. In November 1986, the song was released to the country music format, peaking at number 7 on the Hot Country Songs charts and number five on the Canadian country charts. The song features a guest vocal by Kenny Loggins, along with saxophones played by Bryan Savage and Al Garth. This song was written by group members Jeff Hanna and Bob Carpenter.
References.
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Spirit (Spirit album)
Spirit is the debut studio album by American rock band Spirit, released on January 22, 1968 by Ode Records. The album was commercially successful, spending more than six months on the Billboard album charts, peaking at #31. It was voted number 658 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums" 3rd Edition (2000)"."
Similarity to "Stairway to Heaven".
The guitar part of "Taurus" is said to have influenced Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page in writing "Stairway to Heaven". Led Zeppelin opened for Spirit on an American tour in 1968, and also borrowed from "Fresh Garbage" in live performances of the song 'As Long as I Have You'.
Release history.
In 1973, Epic released a two-disc LP repackage of "Spirit" and "Clear" simply entitled "Spirit".
The album was first issued on compact disc in 1996 by Sony. The original 1968 stereo mixes were not available for this release, so the album was remixed in stereo from the original multitrack tapes. This edition also includes four previously unreleased bonus tracks.
In 2017, Audio Fidelity reissued the album as a numbered limited edition hybrid SACD. This edition was remastered from the original 1968 stereo master tapes, which had not been commercially available since the LP release was discontinued in the 1970s. The 2017 edition also includes bonus tracks in the same mixes as those on the 1996 reissue.
References.
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Spirits (band)
English music group
Spirits is a male/female dance music duo from England, who scored two entries on the US "Billboard" Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1995. Members are Osmond Wright and Beverly Thomas. Their debut single, "Don't Bring Me Down" (1994), spent two weeks at number one on the dance chart and it was followed by "Spirit Inside" (1995), which hit number twelve.
References.
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Free Spirit (Jedward song)
"Free Spirit" is a song by Irish pop duo Jedward. It was released on 17 May 2014 and was announced as the lead single from their upcoming fourth studio album. It is the first single released to have been entirely written and produced by Jedward. The song debuted at number 31 on the Irish singles chart.
Background.
On 17 April 2014, Jedward announced details of their fourth studio album, as yet to be released. They revealed that they had written and produced all the songs on the album themselves. They also released the album's lead single, "Free Spirit" on 17 May 2014. The song was inspired by Olympic figure skater Gracie Gold.
References.
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Keep Your Head to the Sky
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" is a song recorded by American R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire for their 1973 album, "Head to the Sky". It was released as a single by Columbia Records, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.
Overview.
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was written by Maurice White and produced by Joe Wissert. The single's b-side was a tune called "Build Your Nest". Both songs came from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1973 studio album "Head to the Sky".
Critical reception.
Vince Aletti of "Rolling Stone" proclaimed that Keep Your Head to the Sky "with the gentle admonition to keep your head in faith’s atmosphere, has a luscious, luminous quality". Alex Henderson of Allmusic also called the tune "hauntingly pretty".
Samples.
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was sampled by Lisa Left-Eye Lopes on Head to the Sky on her 2001 album Supernova. As well by Jay Z on his 1994 track "Reach the Top". Along with Guru featuring Amel Larrieux on "Guidance" from his 2000 album "". The song was also sampled by Kirk Franklin on "Keep Your Head" from his 2005 album "Hero" and by DMX on "Head Up" from his 2012 album "Undisputed".
Keep Your Head To The Sky was interpolated by Mary J. Blige on Keep Your Head off her 1998 live album The Tour.
References.
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Spirit (band)
American rock band founded in 1967
Spirit was an American rock band founded in 1967 and based in Los Angeles. Their most commercially successful single in the United States was "I Got a Line on You". They were also known for their albums, including their self-titled debut album, "The Family That Plays Together", "Clear", and "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus".
Original lineup.
The original lineup of the group evolved from a Los Angeles band, the Red Roosters, which included Randy California (born Randy Craig Wolfe; guitars, vocals), Mark Andes (bass) and Jay Ferguson (vocals, percussion). With the addition of California's stepfather Ed Cassidy on drums, and keyboard player John Locke, the new band was originally named the "Spirits Rebellious" (after a book by Kahlil Gibran), but the name was soon shortened to Spirit. Before returning to his native state, California previously played with Jimi Hendrix as a member of Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1966. Hendrix gave Randy Wolfe the nickname "Randy California" to distinguish him from Randy Palmer, whom Hendrix named "Randy Texas".
Cassidy was recognizable by his shaved head (hence his nickname "Mr. Skin", later the title of a Spirit song) and his fondness for wearing black. Born in 1923, he was about twenty years older than the rest of the group. Although his earlier career was primarily in jazz (including stints with Cannonball Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Roland Kirk, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz), he had served as the founding drummer of Rising Sons, an early blues rock vehicle for Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder.
1960s.
Early demo recordings by the band were produced by their Topanga Canyon roommate Barry Hansen, later known as the radio host Dr. Demento. In August 1967, the record producer Lou Adler (known for his work with The Mamas & the Papas and The Grass Roots) signed the band to his label, Ode Records. The group's first album, "Spirit", was released in 1968. "Mechanical World" was released as a single (it lists the playing time merely as "very long"). The album was a hit, reaching number 31 on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for seven months. The album had jazz influences and used elaborate string arrangements (not found on their subsequent recordings) and is the most overtly psychedelic of their albums. A song from the album, "Fresh Garbage", was included on the CBS sampler album "The Rock Machine Turns You On", released in 1968 in the UK, Europe and South Africa, and was the UK's first introduction to the band.
The band capitalized on the success of their first album with another single, "I Got a Line on You". Released in November 1968, a month before their second album, "The Family That Plays Together", it became their biggest hit single, reaching number 25 on the charts (number 28 in Canada). The album matched its success, reaching number 22. In December, they appeared at the Denver Auditorium, with support band Led Zeppelin, who soon after interpolated parts of Spirit's song "Fresh Garbage" in an extended medley based around their cover of Bob Elgin and Jerry Ragavoy's "As Long as I Have You" (initially popularized by Garnet Mimms) during their early 1969 concerts. Spirit also appeared with Led Zeppelin at two outdoor music festivals in July 1969. Jimmy Page's use of a theremin has been attributed to his seeing Randy California use one that he had mounted to his amplifier. "Guitar World" magazine stated that "California's most enduring legacy may well be the fingerpicked acoustic theme of the song 'Taurus', which Jimmy Page was accused of copying note for note for the introduction to 'Stairway to Heaven'." "The Independent" noted the similarity in 1997. In 2014, Mark Andes and a trust acting on behalf of Randy California filed a copyright infringement suit against Led Zeppelin in an attempt to obtain a writing credit for "Stairway to Heaven". Page denied copying "Taurus", and the suit was unsuccessful. The verdict was overturned on appeal in September 2018. On March 9, 2020, the Ninth Circuit re-instated the original jury verdict.
After the success of their early records, the group was asked by French film director Jacques Demy to record the soundtrack to his film "Model Shop", and they also made a brief appearance in the film. Their third album, "Clear", released in 1969, reached No. 55 on the charts.
"1984" and the "Sardonicus" era.
In late 1969, Lou Adler moved distribution of his record label, Ode Records, from Columbia Records to A&M Records. As part of the termination agreement, Columbia was allowed to keep the group under contract. Further releases would be shifted to the Epic Records label.
After the release of "Clear", the group recorded the song "1984", written by California and produced by the group on their own. After being released in February 1970, it placed at No. 69 on the Billboard charts and No. 66 on the RPM charts. The song would finally see general release on "The Best of Spirit" in 1973. The song was later covered by Nash the Slash on his 1984 album "American Band-ages".
In 1970, Spirit started working on their fourth LP "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus". The band chose frequent Neil Young collaborator David Briggs as the producer at the recommendation of the singer-songwriter, an acquaintance from the Topanga Canyon scene. It was a prolific time for the group's writers, and the album was released in late 1970, peaking at No. 63 in early 1971 in the USA, and No. 49 in Canada. The album included Randy California's "Nature's Way", a minor hit (No. 111) which was written in an afternoon during an engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Epic also released an early mix of "Animal Zoo" as a single, but it too only made it to No. 97 on the charts. Like The Who's "Tommy" and Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon", "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" is critically regarded as a landmark of art rock, with a tapestry of literary themes about the fragility of life and the complexity of the human experience, illustrated by recurring lyric "life has just begun", and continued the group's pioneering exploration of environmental issues in their lyrics (cf. "Fresh Garbage"). The album is also notable for its inventive production and the use of a modular Moog synthesizer.
1971–73.
After the group undertook a promotional tour to support the album "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus", Ferguson and Andes left the group, forming Jo Jo Gunne. California had accused them of plotting to take over the group. Their final gig with Spirit occurred on January 30, 1971, which almost ended with a fist-fight.
John Arliss initially took Andes' place. California was still in the lineup, but he had suffered a head injury from a horse riding accident and was unable to tour. Shortly thereafter, bassist and recent University of Texas School of Law graduate Al Staehely was recruited by Locke and Cassidy to replace Arliss. The trio toured briefly before deciding that they had to add a guitarist to do the music justice. Al's brother, John Christian (Chris) Staehely, auditioned for the band and was quickly brought on board, departing the Texas rock group Krackerjack.
The Staehelys, Cassidy and Locke recorded the 1972 album "Feedback" in Columbia/Epic's Hollywood studios. It was a different turn for the group, showing more of a country rock influence pervading their jazzier tendencies, but it met with only a mild commercial response, also reaching No. 63 in the charts. While the tour for "Feedback" proceeded very well for much of that year, Cassidy and Locke lacked an affinity for roots-based music and soon left the lineup. The Staehely brothers completed the critically successful tour with drummer Stu Perry before dissolving the group in mid-1973 and releasing their own album, "Sta-Hay-Lee".
California, meanwhile, had recorded and issued his first solo album, "Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds", also on Epic Records in late 1972. Featuring appearances by Noel Redding (as "Clit McTorius"), Leslie Sampson (the drummer from Redding's band Road; as "Henry Manchovitz"), and Cassidy, the album had a hard rock sound. Following a brief tour in support of the album in the Los Angeles area with Cassidy and bassist Larry "Fuzzy" Knight, California toured Europe with this trio under the imprimatur of Spirit amid pressure from booking agents who wanted to capitalize on the band's name and were not interested in his solo work. During this period, a follow-up album ("The Adventures Of Kaptain Kopter And Commander Cassidy In Potato Land") also was recorded with Cassidy. Although Locke made a guest appearance, it was not intended as a Spirit album at the time. California moved to Molokai, Hawaii, after Epic rejected the completed album.
In 1973, Epic Records decided to re-issue the group's first and third albums as a two-fer entitled "Spirit" in response to "Sardonicus" continuing to sell well as a catalog item; eventually, "Sardonicus" earned the band's only RIAA gold certification in 1976. That same year, Epic issued "The Best of Spirit" compilation album alongside the "Sardonicus" track "Mr. Skin" as a single. "Mr. Skin" became another minor hit (peaking at No. 92), and the two-fer also hit the charts along with "The Best of Spirit". Cassidy decided to capitalize on the new demand for the group and put together an entirely new group for touring purposes, which lasted throughout the year.
The Mercury years (1974–79).
In 1974, Cassidy made it a point to find and re-establish contact with his stepson. He eventually persuaded California to return to the mainland and give the band another shot. Andes worked with the duo for a while, but never intended to stay, as he was in the process of forming the group Firefall at the same time. Andes was replaced by former Frank Zappa sound engineer Barry Keene.
In early 1975, the group was scheduled to open for Ten Years After at a show in Florida, but when the headlining band backed out at the last minute, Spirit was granted permission to take over the theater for the evening. After going around to local radio stations to promote the show and setting a low ($3) ticket price, Spirit managed to sell out the 3,000-seat theater. Using the profits from the show, they blocked out as much time as they could at Studio 70 in Tampa, Florida.
After recording a large amount of material at the studio, manager Marshall Berle (the nephew of Milton Berle) offered the cache of tapes to Mercury Records. On the basis of the material, the group was offered a contract, and a double album entitled "Spirit of '76" was culled from the material and released in May 1975. The album peaked at No. 147 and garnered some FM airplay, so they quickly followed it up with "Son of Spirit", released later that year and featuring many songs taken from the same sessions.
For the tour in support of "Son of Spirit", Locke re-joined the group. Eventually, Andes returned to the lineup as well, and although Ferguson declined to participate in the group reunion at first, the band (with the addition of Mark's brother Matt Andes as a second guitarist) recorded an album entitled "Farther Along", released in late 1976.
First full reunion and "Future Games".
For a few shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Ferguson re-joined the group. Neil Young created an incident during the final show's encore of "Like a Rolling Stone" when he walked on stage inebriated. California would later claim that he did not recognize Young, but at the time was angry with Young for upstaging what he saw as his own comeback. California moved over in front of Neil and began pushing him backwards, away from the microphone, back past the drumkit and offstage. Young, along with other influential artists including New Hollywood director Hal Ashby, had been visiting the band backstage before they went on, and Locke (a friend of Young) had invited the guitarist to join them in their encore. When Locke saw California pushing Young offstage, he got up from his piano and said that he had had enough and did not ever want to play with California again, walking off stage. Cassidy initially quelled the situation by leaving his kit and physically pulling both California and Young back onstage to the microphone to close out the song, asking the audience to sing along with them. After finishing the song, the band members argued backstage over what had unfolded leading to the end of the reunion.
Afterwards, California assembled "Future Games: A Magical Kahauna Dream" with Cassidy and limited assistance from session musicians. The experimental album included a Hendrix-influenced cover of "All Along the Watchtower" and underpinned science fiction-based lyrical themes with many samples from "" in a variant of filk. Although Mercury approved its release in early 1977, it received no promotion and peaked at No. 179 on the U.S. charts, ending what little commercial momentum the group might have regained. It also (initially) ended their contract with Mercury. During this period, Ferguson was having success in his solo career with the hits "Thunder Island" (1977; No. 9) and "Shakedown Cruise" (1979; No. 31).
Return to trio.
In a reprise of the "Kapt. Kopter"-era trio, California, Cassidy and Larry "Fuzzy" Knight toured extensively as Spirit throughout 1978; an English leg saw the band headline a triple bill that included post-punk ensemble Alternative TV and The Police. Throughout the tour, California doubled on the foot-controlled Moog Taurus to partially compensate for the lack of a keyboardist. The German TV/radio programme Rockpalast recorded and broadcast Spirit's entire show of March 4/5, 1978, including the encore jam where Dickey Betts joined the band. This trio lineup also recorded a heavily-overdubbed live album (also released in 1978) that was released in slightly different configurations in several countries by different independent labels. It was not a commercial success, and after the tour's end in 1979, California left the group again.
The 1980s and beyond.
After Spirit's demise, California put together another group with the short-lived intent of restarting his solo career. While in England, a fan presented him with a petition of 5,000 signatures requesting the release of the "Potato Land" album from 1973. Consequently, in 1981, California released an overdubbed selection of tracks from the original album alongside several unrelated songs dating from the late 1970s. Contrary to the intention of the original sessions, it was released under the imprimatur of Spirit in the United States by Rhino Records (a nascent archival label with ties to Dr. Demento) and in Britain by Beggars Banquet Records, a well-regarded independent label specializing in punk rock and its derivations. Surprisingly, it was the only Spirit album other than "Sardonicus" to chart in Britain, peaking at No. 40 in the UK Albums Chart and receiving airplay on BBC Radio 1.
On February 14, 1982, Spirit, performed as a three-piece band, Randy California, Ed Cassidy and an unknown bass player, at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, MO. The show was sponsored and heavily promoted by local rock radio station K-SHE 95 and billed as; "K-SHE 95 presents the 5th Annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre," JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF, w/special guests; SPIRIT. The show was a near sell out with a little over 8,000 in attendance. California's second solo album, "Euro-American", was released in 1982 by Beggars Banquet. It featured a lineup including drummer Preston Heyman. During this period, California performed on the second tier at the 1982 Glastonbury Festival. When the power generator failed—allegedly because the operator had fallen asleep stoned and neglected to refill the fuel—Heyman performed a twenty-minute solo while the situation was rectified.
In December 1982, the original Spirit lineup re-formed and recorded several songs from their first four albums (as well as a few new tracks) live on a soundstage. The band was joined by several guests, including Jeff Baxter and Bob Welch. The resulting "Spirit of '84" (released internationally as "The Thirteenth Dream") was initially recorded for an audiophile label; however, Mercury Records re-signed the band (including a California solo deal) and released the album in 1984. The album was only a moderate critical success and failed to chart. While some of the original members went on to do other projects, California and Cassidy continued touring with new members Scott Monahan on keyboards and Dave Waterbury on bass.
California headed to England and recorded his third solo album, the contemporary hard rock effort "Restless", for which Heyman (who played on the track "Jack Rabbit") secured a deal with Phonogram for in late 1985. Following a few live dates in England, California returned to the United States and resumed touring extensively with Cassidy, Monahan, and Waterbury. There was one more solo album from California: a collection of material entitled "Shattered Dreams" that was released in 1986.
In 1988, California secured a deal for Spirit with prominent independent label I.R.S. Records (best known for cultivating R.E.M. and The Go-Go's), leading Locke to rejoin the band. They recorded an album entitled "Rapture in the Chambers" at the Malibu, California, recording studio Nileland, where studio owner/engineer, bassist and vocalist Mike Nile was asked to join the band. Although the group (including California, Cassidy, Locke, Nile, Monahan, and George Valuck on keyboards) toured extensively in support, the album failed to chart. California, Cassidy, and Nile continued to tour as a power trio while self-releasing "Tent of Miracles" in 1990. Nile contributed heavily to the album, writing songs and sharing lead vocals.
Spirit continued working almost continually for the next six years. Although they only released one album after "Tent of Miracles", the group was always either recording or touring. California had his own home recording studio since the early 1980s, though he had been making home recordings for years prior to that. This came to an end on January 2, 1997, when California drowned off the coast of Hawaii. He had been surfing with his son, who got caught in a riptide. He managed to push his son to safety but ended up losing his own life.
While Cassidy played a few dates with Spirit alumni under the name "Spirit Revisited" in 1998, California's death was effectively the end of the group. Locke died of complications resulting from lymphoma in August 2006. Cassidy died on December 6, 2012, in San Jose, California, at age 89.
Posthumous.
California's death, however, did not mark the end of the emergence of Spirit material. Starting in 2000, there have been five collections of previously unreleased studio and live material, four of which were two-CD sets. California had also prepared an anthology of material from the group's first stint with Mercury Records entitled "The Mercury Years". The two-CD set was released in early 1997, though it raised the ire of some fans who did not care for the fact that some of the material had been re-edited or featured overdubbing that was not present on the original releases.
Likewise, nearly all of Spirit's original albums are currently in print on CD. This is thanks to the efforts of Sony Music (with the Epic catalog, though Collector's Choice Music was the first to reissue "Feedback" on CD in the U.S., following a brief release on disc in France in the late 1990s) and Beat Goes On alongside Edsel, both UK labels (with the Mercury catalog, some of which had made it to CD prior to Beat Goes On and Edsel reissuing all of their Mercury albums). Their later independent albums are available through the group's website. The one album that is unavailable at this time is "Rapture In The Chambers", which has not been reissued since the original 1989 release, though it was released on CD at that time.
Spirit has also found its work sampled by modern artists several times. The most notable of these was the "Extra P. Remix" of the song "Resurrection" by Common (which samples "Ice" from "Clear)" and "Feel Good Time" by Pink (which samples the track "Fresh Garbage").
In 2015, "I Got a Line On You" was covered by Alice Cooper's super group the Hollywood Vampires on the album of the same name.
Musical style.
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"The notes identify them as 'pioneers' of 'topical lyrics that were realized by the production of the song,' which makes me think again about the way the first two cuts, '1984' and 'Mechanical World,' shift texture and tempo. By the stars, I do believe these fellows helped invent art-rock. This is not an unmixed distinction, but it could be worse: the topicality is a notch above ordinary rock sci-fi (they have a sense of humor), the derivations more jazz than classical. The big plus here though, is that great shining 2:39 of hard rock guitar, Randy California's 'I Got a Line on You.'"
—"The Best of Spirit" review in "" (1981)
According to "AllMusic", Spirit was an "ambitious and acclaimed West Coast psychedelic band that fused hard rock to jazz, blues, country, and folk"; Formed by an eclectic group of musicians who had backgrounds in rock, pop, folk, blues, classical music and jazz backgrounds, Spirit "had an eclectic musical style in keeping with the early days of progressive rock" and they "seemed determine to out-eclecticize everybody else on the California psychedelic scene, with [their] melange of rock, jazz, blues, folk-rock, and even a bit of classical and Indian music." Robert Christgau wrote that Randy California was "the rock equivalent of the cool, progressive jazzman of the '50s".
Band members.
Following "Sardonicus", many musicians passed through the group's ranks. Most of them did not make a huge contribution to the group's sound, but some did. The most important of the later group members are listed here:
References.
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Spirit of the West
Canadian rock band
Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.
Early years.
Geoffrey Kelly and J. Knutson had begun playing music together as a duo when Kelly's then-girlfriend Alison, at the time a theatre student, told them she had a classmate with a really great singing voice. That classmate, John Mann, joined Kelly and Knutson as a folk trio called Eavesdropper, and scored early gigs as an opening act for rockers such as Art Bergmann and Barney Bentall. Early on their set predominantly comprised covers of artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Eric Bogle, Richard Thompson and Billy Bragg, with original compositions gradually introduced into their set.
After a gig on Vancouver Island was erroneously billed as "Eavesdroppings", the band opted to change its name to Spirit of the West, and independently released the album "Spirit of the West" in 1984 before signing to Stony Plain Records, a roots music label based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Stony Plain released "Tripping Up the Stairs" in 1986. Following that album Hugh McMillan joined the band and the band toured through 1987 as a quartet with Hugh on bass. In October 1987 Jay Knutson left the band to join the Winnipeg based band Hart Rouged and pursue a "solo" career.
1988's "Labour Day" spawned the popular single "Political" and consolidated the band as a significant draw on the folk festival circuit. The album also garnered the band its first Juno Award nomination, for Best Roots & Traditional Album at the Juno Awards of 1989.
After that album's tour, McMillan took a temporary hiatus from the band in December of 1988 for personal reasons and to pursue solo interests. He was replaced by Daniel Lapp and Linda McRae, but returned before the band's next album was recorded. When McMillan returned, Lapp left the band in June of 1989 due to his wife becoming pregnant, but McRae stayed on. (As a result, Lapp never actually appeared on a Spirit of the West recording. He pursued a solo career, however, releasing a number of albums of experimental jazz/folk/electronic fusion.)
On the strength of "Political", Warner Bros. Records signed the band in 1989, and Stony Plain released a compilation, "Old Material 1984–1986", to close out their contract with the label.
In 1990, the band's major label debut, "Save This House" was released. The album track "Home for a Rest", which was considered a classic party anthem at universities across Canada was not officially released as a commercial or radio single, but became the band's signature song. (Despite its not being a single, a music video was released for the song.)
Evolution.
As part of their tour to support "Save This House", the band toured England with The Wonder Stuff, and decided to bring in a drummer and experiment with a more rock-oriented sound — a need which became particularly acute after the bands played two shows on the same bill as Jane's Addiction. After recording some song demos with guest drummer Darrell Mayes of the Colin James band and then touring for part of 1990 with various session drummers, the band brought in Vince Ditrich, who appeared for the first time on the band's 1991 album "Go Figure".
Although the album retained many of the band's folk influences, it was more hard rock than any of the band's previous efforts, and this proved controversial among the band's fans. The album included a rock rendition of "Political", and at one show in London, Ontario, the audience presented the band with a petition demanding that they play the original version of that song. Despite the controversies, however, it won them many new fans in the alternative rock scene.
The band received a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards of 1991.
MacRae also appeared on The Wonder Stuff's album "Never Loved Elvis", and all of the members of both bands recorded a cover of the country standard "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" as a B-side for the Wonder Stuff's "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" single. Over the winter of 1992-93, the band undertook the Hollow Bodies tour, performing material in their older acoustic style.
In 1993, the band released their most successful album, "Faithlift", and scored their biggest hit single, "And if Venice is Sinking". 1995's "Two Headed", in turn, garnered significant airplay for the single "Tell Me What I Think", and the band garnered a Juno Award nomination for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1995. However, the album was not as successful on the charts, or as critically hailed, as its predecessor.
In the summer of 1995, the band toured with The Tragically Hip as part of the Another Roadside Attraction festival.
Beginning in 1995, the band also performed a number of shows with symphony orchestras across Canada, premiering songs written for a planned symphony album with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. After recording two shows with the VSO on May 12 and May 13, 1995, they released the album "Open Heart Symphony" that year; the concert also aired on Bravo concurrently with the album's release.
At the end of 1996, McRae left the band amicably to pursue a solo career, performing her last show on New Year's Eve of that year. She released a solo country album in 1997, and then formed the alternative country band Cheerful Lonesome.
The remaining members recorded 1997's "Weights and Measures" as a four-piece at Martin Barre's studio in Devon, England, working with Barre and members of The Wonder Stuff, Capercaillie and Fairport Convention to round out the studio effort, and added Tobin Frank for their concert tour. In the same year, a studio version of the song "Kiss & Tell", which had previously been released only in its live form on "Open Heart Symphony", appeared on the soundtrack to the film "The Hanging Garden".
However, with the music industry's emphasis having shifted by this time away from alternative rock and back toward more mainstream pop-oriented performers, Warner Bros. put little effort into promoting the album, and dropped the band from their roster after the tour.
Hiatus and revival.
After "Weights & Measures" the band took a hiatus from recording and broad-scale national touring, although they continued to perform selected live dates on the summer folk festival circuit and in major concert markets such as Vancouver and Toronto. During the hiatus, Mann, Ditrich and Kelly all released solo albums, Mann pursued acting roles, McMillan worked as a session musician and producer for The Town Pants, and Kelly and Frank recorded with The Paperboys.
The band's first new album in seven years, "Star Trails", was released on July 6, 2004 on MapleMusic Recordings.
In 2008, the band released a 25th anniversary compilation, "", on Rhino Records. The two-CD set includes 32 remastered tracks from throughout the band's career, including two new songs, "Winter's Now the Enemy" and "Another Happy New Year". Their official 25th anniversary concert, held at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom on March 14, 2008, was recorded and broadcast by CBC Radio 2. Concurrently with the release of "Spirituality", Rhino also released remastered editions of "Faithlift" and "Open Heart Symphony".
In 2009, Spirit of the West opened for Great Big Sea on the "Fortune's Favour" tour, finishing in Victoria, British Columbia on March 26. On this tour, the final encore performances typically involved both bands performing together on various songs, including Spirit of the West's "Political" and Great Big Sea's "The Old Black Rum".
In 2010, Kelly, Ditrich and Frank joined Ashley MacIsaac and folk musician Matthew Harder in recording a charity single, "Dreams", to benefit Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, a skier from Ghana who was the first Ghanaian athlete ever to compete in the Winter Olympics. Nkrumah-Acheampong himself participated in the recording, playing traditional Ghanaian percussion. The single, credited to The Parallel Band, was released to iTunes on February 19, 2010. Concurrently, Mann was in Edmonton, starring in a stage production of Bruce Ruddell's rock musical "Beyond Eden". In 2011, the full Spirit of the West lineup recorded and released another charity single, "Bulembu", to benefit the Bulembu orphanage and sustainable economic development project in Swaziland; the song also includes a vocal choir of children from Bulembu.
Kelly underwent surgery in early 2012 and was unable to perform for several weeks; Harder and Kendel Carson of The Paperboys substituted for him in several live shows during this period, including the band's traditional annual St. Patrick's Day show at the Commodore Ballroom. At the band's 2014 St. Patrick's Day show, they were inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Conclusion.
In September 2014, Mann announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, but planned to continue performing with the band as long as he remained able to do so. In concession to Mann's illness, the band began performing with an iPad mounted near the microphone in case Mann had difficulty remembering the lyrics, while Harder joined full-time to take over Mann's duties on lead guitar. Weeks after the announcement, Mann performed a concert featuring his solo material and that of Spirit of the West, which was broadcast by CBC Television's "Absolutely Canadian" in July 2015 as "John Mann Here and Now".
The band's preparations for a 2015 concert at Massey Hall are profiled in Pete McCormack's documentary film "Spirit Unforgettable".
In December 2015, the band announced that they would perform a three-night run at the Commodore Ballroom from April 15 to 17 as their final shows. Over the month before the final shows, the band undertook a small-scale final tour.
As Ditrich was also in poor health with kidney disease, he was not able to perform for the full duration of all three Commodore shows, and shared drum duties with Kris MacFarlane and Pat Steward. Kendel Carson, Paul Hyde, Jim Cuddy, Steven Page, Colin James, Andy Maize and Craig Northey also participated in the Commodore shows as guests.
The band remained informally active through private "Johnny Jams" as a form of music therapy for Mann, and Kelly communicated the hope that Mann would remain healthy enough for the band to play occasional brief reunion sets in the future. Following The Tragically Hip's announcement in May 2016 that singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with brain cancer but would undertake a tour with the band in summer 2016, Kelly was interviewed by both CBC Radio One's "Day 6" and "Maclean's" about his experiences performing with Spirit of the West under similar circumstances.
The band performed a reunion set at Spirit of Canada, a benefit concert for Alzheimer's awareness at the Commodore Ballroom on November 19, 2017. The concert's lineup included Odds, Barney Bentall, Dustin Bentall, Jim Byrnes, Kendel Carson, Jim Cuddy, Alan Doyle, Colin James, Sarah McLachlan, Ed Robertson, Shari Ulrich and Spirit: The Next Generation, an act consisting of the band members' children. Before the show, the performing musicians participated in a group recording of the band's signature song "Home for a Rest" as a tribute to Mann.
Mann died on November 20, 2019.
References.
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Sky Blue (song)
"Sky Blue" is a song written and recorded by English musician Peter Gabriel. In September 2002, it appeared on Gabriel's seventh studio album, "Up". Fragments of the song were also used on Gabriel's soundtrack album "", which preceded the release of "Up" by a few months.
Background.
The origins of "Sky Blue" date back to the 1980s around 15 years before the song's eventual release on "Up" in 2002. Gabriel first developed the main riff, which he earmarked for future use. He recorded a version of the song for the "Us" album in 1992, but it went unused. Gabriel returned to the song for "Up", making it the oldest song on the album. In comparison to the demo recorded for "Us", which Gabriel described as having a band oriented arrangement, the version found on "Up" features sparser instrumentation. Five months prior to the release of "Up", segments from the chorus of "Sky Blue" were included on "Ngankarrparni" and "Cloudless" from Gabriel's "", which served as the soundtrack for the Australian film "Rabbit-Proof Fence".
Gabriel was influenced by soul music when creating "Sky Blue", so he asked The Blind Boys of Alabama to overdub some vocals, which were ultimately included in the final two minutes of the song. Five members from The Blind Boys of Alabama participated in the recording session. Gabriel had been contemplating the addition of some male voices at the end of "Sky Blue" and felt that he "couldn't think of anyone better to do it." He remarked that vocal group had "extraordinary voices" and were "extraordinary people too, but the voices are lived in and they have a different type of quality to them than young voices. I think that it's one of my favourite emotional bits on the record."
The instrumentation for "Sky Blue" includes electronic loops, shaker-oriented percussion, gentle bass tones, and bright resonant guitars. In addition to Gabriel's touring band, the song also features Daniel Lanois, who produced Gabriel's studio albums from 1984-1992, on guitar and percussion. Gabriel also collaborated with Peter Green, a British guitarist who he admired growing up. The two of them conducted two recording sessions, one of which was at Real World Studios and another at Green's home studio. Gabriel asked Green to play a guitar solo that resembled the music he grew up with, but Green instead decided to provide a supporting role that focused more on texture. Other than the Hammond organ played by David Sancious, Gabriel covered most of the keyboards on "Sky Blue", including one instrument identified in the liner notes as firefly keys. Richard Chappell, who served as one of the engineers for "Up", said that the firefly keys referred to a patch from a GigaSampler, which is a PC-based sampler.
Critical reception.
Writing for "PopMatters", Andy Kerman expressed his opinion that the long gestation time of "Sky Blue" reflected the ten-year development time of "Up". He also praised the vocals from The Blind Boys of Alabama and compared them to "the same pop-gospel terrain occupied by 'Don't Give Up'" off Gabriel's 1986's "So" album. Peter Menocal of Kludge noted how Gabriel's "raspy" vocal delivery guided the instrumentation. Writing for CMJ magazine, Chris Nicksong highlighted the song's "trembling optimism." In his book "Without Frontiers: The Life and Music of Peter Gabriel", Daryl Easlea called Sky Blue the "pure standout" on "Up" and also believed that it should been released as the album's first single instead of "The Barry Williams Show".
Live performances.
The Blind Boys of Alabama served as the opening act for Gabriel's Growing Up concert tour from 2003-2004. During the tour, Gabriel's manager asked the band to perform onstage alongside Gabriel for an encore. One of the members, Clarence Fountain, objected to this on the grounds that it would require the band to wait several hours before they were required to perform. Charles Driebe, who served as the manager for The Blind Boys of Alabama, informed Gabriel's manager that the band was "more interested in hotel rooms than an encore" but were still open to perform a song earlier in the set. Gabriel accepted this accommodation and agreed that the band would join him onstage every night to perform "Sky Blue".
Gabriel started performing "Sky Blue" on the Growing Up tour with the Blind Boys of Alabama beginning on 12 November 2002 and continued to do so for the remainder of the tour. He had previously played the song during his tour stop in Mexico City without the band. "Sky Blue" appeared as the fifth song of the set and was played after "Secret World". During these performances, Fountain, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams, and George Scott sat in a compass formation on a platform situated in the middle of the stage. The stage and an inflated egg suspended from the ceiling were illuminated with azure colors and projections of clouds. Gabriel positioned himself behind the keyboards for the song's first two verses before venturing out to the outer portions of the stage that rotated against his movements. During the final chorus of these performances, Gabriel and his daughter Melanie would exit the stage as the Blind Boys of Alabama's platform rose from below the stage. For the vocal harmonies, Fountain hit the lowest notes and Carter covered the upper registers. Andy Gill of "The Independent" called the "Sky Blue" a highlight of the set and praised The Blind Boys of Alabama for their "uplifting gospel moans".
Personnel.
Credits from the "Up" liner notes.
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Spirit Cool
Spirit Cool popularly known as Spirit is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and acoustic live looping artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a former Guinness World Recordholder for longest marathon guitar playing.
He was placed in the "Top 20 Lower Mainland Best New Acts" in the 2013 CBC Music's Searchlight Contest, selected by public vote.
Career.
In the 1990s, he played in Poetic Justice, a Kitsilano based band. Later, he toured across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. He has performed with members from Trooper, Prism, Poetic Justice and other bands. He left his construction job to pursue his career in music in 2011, reportedly by Surrey Now.
In 2013, he released his debut album, "All The Pieces", which was well received. He uses an acoustic live looping technique to perform original music with an acoustic guitar and his voice. Spirit released singles, "Where, Oh Where" in November 2017, followed by "Give It All Back" and "Hands".
Spirit was placed in the "Top 20 Lower Mainland Best New Acts" in the 2013 CBC Music's Searchlight competition.
World record.
In May 2018, he entered in the Guinness Book of World's Records for longest marathon guitar playing. He played the guitar for 124.5 hours over six days, breaking the world record of 114 hours of guitar playing, which was previously held by David Browne from Ireland. Later in July 2018, Australian's Scott Burford broke Spirit's record by playing continuous guitar for over 125 hours.
Philanthropy.
In May 2018, he raised $10,000 funds for the Canadian Cancer Society by performing at the River Rock Casino Resort in memory of his parents, who both died of cancer.
References.
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Spirit Airlines
American low-cost airline
Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Spirit was the seventh largest passenger carrier in North America as of 2023,[ [update]] as well as the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in North America. Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024 and emerged after financial restructuring in March 2025.
History.
Foundation and early years.
The company started as Clippert Trucking Company in 1964. In 1974, the company changed its name to Ground Air Transfer, Inc. In 1983, the airline service was founded in Macomb County, Michigan, by Ned Homfeld as Charter One Airlines, a Detroit-based charter tour operator providing travel packages to entertainment destinations such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas.
1990s.
In May 1992, Charter One brought jet aircraft into the fleet and changed its name to Spirit Airlines. Scheduled flights between Detroit and Atlantic City began on June 1, 1992. Scheduled flights between Boston and Providence began on June 15, 1992.
In April 1993, Spirit Airlines began scheduled service to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Flights between Atlantic City and Fort Myers, Florida, began in September 1993. Service at Philadelphia began in 1994. During the next five years, Spirit expanded further, increasing service from Detroit and adding service in new markets such as Myrtle Beach, Los Angeles, and New York City.
In the summer of 1994, Spirit Airlines overbooked flights, and 1,400 customers' tickets were canceled. The overbooking occurred because Spirit Airlines had given incorrect instructions to travel agents, causing those tickets not to be valid, even though the customers had paid for the flights. In response to criticism, Spirit Airlines said it would make sure all paid customers would always be able to fly to their destination, even if Spirit Airlines had to book them on a competitor's airline.
In 1996, Janet Patton became Spirit Airlines' first female pilot. In 1998, she became the first female captain. At the time, Spirit was utilizing DC-9 and MD-80 aircraft.
Spirit initially had their headquarters in the Kennedy Building located in Eastpointe, Michigan, formerly East Detroit, in Metro Detroit. It relocated its headquarters in December 1999, moving to Miramar, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Prior to the decision to move the headquarters to Miramar, Spirit considered Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Detroit, Michigan.
2000s.
In 20