The book takes its name from an included short story of the same title, which in turn took the title from a poem by Walt Whitman published in his collection Leaves of Grass.

The collection includes these stories: In 1998, Avon Books published I Sing the Body Electric!

The New York Times also received Body Electric favorably, saying "Whatever the premise, the author retains an enthusiasm for both the natural world and the supernatural that sends a tingle of excitement through even the flimsiest conceit.

[3] It was later adapted as a 1982 television movie, The Electric Grandmother, starring Maureen Stapleton.

[4] Lana Del Rey also titled her song "Body Electric", in which one of the lyrics reads "I sing the body electric" as an homage to the collection of short stories.