Who inspired Norman Greenbaum to write the song 'Spirit in the Sky'?

Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Spirit in the Sky". The song, with its combination of 'heavy' guitar, hand-clapping, and spiritual lyrics, was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1969. It sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970, and received a gold disc from the R.I.A.A. It has subsequently been used in many films, advertisements, and television shows.

Although "Spirit in the Sky" has a clear Christian theme, Greenbaum was and remains an observant Jew. Greenbaum says he was inspired to write the song after watching country singers Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner singing a religious song on television.

The song has been featured in several films, television series, documentaries and video games including Rock Band 2, This is the End, Wayne's World 2, Miami Blues, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Longest Yard, Suicide Squad, Life, The Founder, Remember the Titans, House, Contact, Supernatural, Michael, The Blacklist: Redemption, Shameless, and in credits for the 2017 movie, Life.

In the Ron Howard movie Apollo 13, the Fred Haise character opened the TV broadcast to Earth from the Odyssey Command Module with "Spirit in the Sky" instead of the planned theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey.

The song appears in the second trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as the soundtrack album, but is not heard in the film.