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Thank you again for this series of posts. I had not heard that bluegrass song before but I do have some bluegrass in my library and one of my favorite ones (from about 10 years ago) is "McKinley Blues", a version done by Jack Lawrence.

Jack Lawrence - McKinley Blues

With the refrain "hard times, hard times, they're coming", it could well be true today in light of world events.

Now for my #46 song, it's a song that gets stuck in the head of anybody that knows it. A one-hit wonder by Norman Greenbaum, who grew up not too far from me in Massachusetts (I could have walked to his house from my childhood home).

The song was a massive hit in the early 1970s and still gets a lot of airplay today on the classic rock stations. Whenever it comes on the radio, I crank it up and increase my speed by at least 10mph. So far, it has not cost me a traffic ticket.

My favorite story about Norman Greenbaum is that this one song pretty much set him up for life. He's not a rich man but the steady royalties over the decades, including movie placements, and live gigs, have allowed him a pretty decent living without having to get a 9-5 job.

Now that's a pretty good deal for being a one-hit wonder.

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky (1970),

#50 - Jack's Mannequin - The Lights And Buzz (2005)
#49 - The Cars - It's All I Can Do (1979)
#48 - Lobo - Me And You And A Dog Named Boo (1971)
#47 - Zach Bryan - Oklahoma Smokeshow (2022)
#46 - Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky (1970)

“Now that’s a pretty good deal for being a one-hit wonder.“

Especially when you consider the song is built on a basic generic blues riff that is one of first things you learn on the guitar.

“I’ve never been a sinner; I’ve never sinned. I have a friend in Jesus.”

That’s a rather curious theological viewpoint.