Norman Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 1969 hit song "Spirit in the Sky". Norman Greenbaum was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in a Jewish family. His mother was a piano teacher and his father was a doctor. When he was a teenager, he became interested in folk music and played the guitar. He later joined a band called The Bedbugs. In 1966, Greenbaum moved to San Francisco, where he became involved in the psychedelic music scene. He recorded his first album, titled Songs of Our Times, in 1968. The following year, he released his best-known song, "Spirit in the Sky". The song was a hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Greenbaum continued to release music throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but did not achieve the same level of success as he did with "Spirit in the Sky". In recent years, he has toured with other 1960s musicians.