Episode 32: Take Me to Church: Religion in 70s Popular Music
PLAY LIST
“Rock Me” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1939)
“Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum (1970)
“My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison (1970)
“Day by Day” by Godspell Original Cast (1972)
“I’ll Take You There” by The Staples Singers (1972)
“Jesus is Just Alright by the Doobie Brothers (1972)
“Dust in the Wind” by Kansas (1978)
SHOW NOTES
This episodes examines how the 70s religious revival was reflected in popular music of the 70s. The decade was a time of self-discovery and, for many people, religion offered support and perhaps even hope in the midst of chaos. That does not mean that recording songs with religious themes is without risk. That definitely was not and is not the case. Even George Harrison questioned how well “My Sweet Lord” would be received. When Norman Greenbaum, who is Jewish, was asked about the lyrics to “Spirit in the Sky,” he said, “There was the song about the plastic Jesus on the dashboard. They liked that one. [Now], quite a few churches have put it into their services and they sing it quite often. So it turned out OK. To be blunt, I don’t think it’s on the shit list.”
It is important to keep in mind, though, that 70s artists did not invent the concept of merging religion and pop or rock music. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was doing that decades earlier and the artists that followed her, including Elvis and Johnny Cash, were simply following her lead.
SOURCES
Briehan, Tom. “The Number Ones: George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord.’ Stereogum. January 18, 2019. https://www.stereogum.com/2028987/the-number-ones-george-harrisons-my-sweet-lord/columns/the-number-ones/
Bronson, Fred. “I’ll Take You There.” The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York: Billboard Publications. 1985.
Campbell, Mary. “New Rock Hits Sound Religious Themes.” The Miami Herald. May 16, 1970.
Dallas, Kelsey. “Jesus, Take the Radio Dial: Country music’s evolving relationship with religion.” Desert News. January 25, 2016. -https://www.deseret.com/2016/1/25/20580894/jesus-take-the-radio-dial-country-music-s-evolving-relationship-with-religion
Davis, Joshua Clark. “Five Myths about Hippies.” The Washington Post. July 7, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-hippies/2017/07/07/776a1530-5a9a-11e7-9fc6-c7ef4bc58d13_story.html
Diaz-Hurtado, Jessica. “Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Godmother of Rock and Roll.” NPR. August 24, 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/544226085/forebears-sister-rosetta-tharpe-the-godmother-of-rock-n-roll
Kennedy, Mark. “Day by Day: Musical ‘Godspell’ Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary.” ABC News. May 10, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/day-day-musical-godspell-celebrates-50th-anniversary-77602284
Kot, Greg. I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era. New York: Scribner. 2014.
Ling, Dave. “The Story Behind the Song.” Louder. August 30, 2016. https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-carry-on-wayward-son-by-kansas
Martoccio, Angie. “Norman Greenbaum Interview: ‘Spirit in the Sky’ at 50 and More.” Rolling Stone. January 17, 2020. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/norman-greenbaum-interview-spirit-in-the-sky-934508/
Pearson, Patrick. “Godspell’s Record Breaking Run.” Ford’s Theatre Blog. https://www.fords.org/blog/post/godspells-record-breaking-run/
Schulman, Bruce J. The Seventies. DeCapo Press. 2002.
Thompson, Derek. “How America Lost Its Religion.” The Atlantic. September 26, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/atheism-fastest-growing-religion-us/598843/
Ulster, Laurie. “The Legacy of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’” Biography. February 28, 2019. https://www.biography.com/news/john-lennon-imagine-song-facts
Wiser, Carl. “Tom Johnston from the Doobie Brothers.” Songfacts.com. October 8, 2009. https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/tom-johnston-from-the-doobie-brothers
Wolfe, Tom. “The ‘Me Decade’ and the Third Great Awakening.” New York. August 23, 1976. https://nymag.com/news/features/45938/