Song · Dr. and the Medics
“Spirit In The Sky” by Dr. and the Medics
From the album Laughing at the Pieces (1986)
“Spirit In The Sky” by Dr. and the Medics appears on 13 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1988 and 2024. It was first released in 1986 on the album Laughing at the Pieces. Its best result is #151 on the WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,003 alternative song of all time.
Dr. and the Medics dug up "Spirit in the Sky", the song Norman Greenbaum wrote and first recorded in 1969, and put their own version on their 1986 album Laughing at the Pieces. Every word and note is Greenbaum's; what the Medics brought was a fresh coat of mid-'80s paint and a straight face stretched just thin enough to let the grin show through.
It worked. Their take went all the way to number one in the UK, matching what Greenbaum's original had managed there.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 151 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) | 200 |
| 1999 | 151 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 300 |
| 1999 | 1053 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 1999 | 985 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2000 | 1053 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1040 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1040 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1515 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1025 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 1846 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 1025 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1025 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2024 | 754 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
Also listed as: Spirit in the Sky; Spirit in the sky.
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