The song was voted one of the top ten one-hit wonders in a Rolling Stone reader's poll.

[3] Greenbaum first arranged the song for an acoustic jug band; then he tried a folk version and then a Delta blues style, but none of these were satisfactory.

Under Jacobsen's direction, the song started to gel at Coast Recorders studio on Bush Street in San Francisco,[8] with Jacobsen's chosen session players Russell DaShiell on guitar, Doug Killmer from the band Crowfoot on bass, and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel.

Jacobsen finally brought in the Stovall Sisters (Joyce, Lillian, and Netta) from Oakland to support the song with gospel hand percussion and vocal stylings, joined by additional singers.

[10] Music historian Simon Reynolds has referred to the sound of "Spirit in the Sky" as "proto-glam".

"[13][12] While some Christian artists have recorded the song using Greenbaum's original lyrics, others have changed those lines, such as DC Talk, who instead sang, "You know I've been a sinner/We've all sinned".

[14] This cover version was heard in the 1987 film Maid to Order, catalyzing renewed media interest in the original song.

[3] The original version is heard in the films Miami Blues (1990), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Sandlot 2 (2005), Katie and Orbie, Lovelace (2013), Suicide Squad, and The Founder (2016).

I've gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it's their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to 'Danny Boy'.

1 on the UK Singles Chart with their version of "Spirit in the Sky", spending three weeks at the top.

"Spirit in the Sky" served as the first single from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates's second studio album, Go Your Own Way.

[89] The campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War opens with a cutscene featuring the song.