Biography
20 November 1942, Malden, Massachusetts, USA. Greenbaum first tasted minor US chart fame as the founder of Los Angeles jug band Dr. West’s Medicine Show And Junk Band, who achieved a minor hit with the novelty ‘The Eggplant That Ate Chicago’. After the break-up of the group in 1967, Greenbaum effectively retired from the music business to run a dairy farm in Petaluma, California (he later recorded ‘Milk Cow Blues’). In 1970, however, one of his recordings, ‘Spirit In The Sky’ (inspired by a Porter Wagoner song), unexpectedly scaled the US charts, finally reaching number 3 and later hitting the top in the UK. It was a startling single of its era, highlighted by a memorable fuzz guitar riff and some spirited backing vocals and handclaps. Although Greenbaum was teased out of retirement to record a couple of albums, he remained the quintessential one-hit-wonder chart-topper. Since 1981, he has worked as a short-order chef in Santa...
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![Spirit in the Sky [Varese]](http://d3dvedx3sqrauf.cloudfront.net/i/boxart/small/62/030206622928.jpg?v=2 "Spirit in the Sky [Varese]")
