Artist · chart history · #745 in indie & aaa artist polls
Spirit
Band Los Angeles United States Active 1967–1997 psychedelic rock
Spirit formed in 1967 in Los Angeles, United States and was active until 1997. Spirit has 18 chart appearances on 15 radio countdowns from 10 stations on RockLists, spanning 1982–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Natures Way”, which appears on 6 lists with a best position of #102. The station that charted Spirit most often is WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), with 5 appearances.
Spirit came out of Los Angeles in 1967 as a psychedelic rock band with a restless streak and no interest in sitting still. The lineup that made their name was Randy California, Ed Cassidy, John Locke, Mark Andes and Jay Ferguson, and they bent acid-rock guitar around arrangements that liked to wander off down side streets, recording for Ode and Epic along the way.
The self-titled debut in 1968 opened the account with "Fresh Garbage", and The Family That Plays Together, the same year, delivered "I Got a Line on You", a tight, hard-driving rocker that became their most successful single in the US. Clear is in there too, and in 1970 came Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, one of the records they're best known for and home of the fragile, eerie "Nature's Way".
After that the lineup started to shift. California was gone by 1971, with John Staehely taking over guitar through 1973, and Barry Keene held down the bass for a spell in the mid-'70s. The band carried on, members coming and going, until 1997.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Spirit on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natures Way | 6 | #102 | – | – | |
| 2 | I Got A Line On You | 9 | #111 | – | – | |
| 3 | Fresh Garbage | 2 | #424 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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