Part 5/9:
Initially, the success of "Spirit in the Sky" was not a foregone conclusion. Despite a slow start—with the first two singles from his debut album, "Marcy" and "Jubilee," flopping—the label ultimately decided to feature "Spirit in the Sky" as the third single. This decision proved monumental. In early 1970, the song rocketed to number three on the Billboard Hot 100, topping charts in multiple countries and becoming one of Reprise Records’ biggest hits.