Artist:Sister Janet Mead
Song:The Lord's Prayer
Album:Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day Vol. 12
This musical adaptation of The Lord's Prayer was a top five hit in 1974. It was the only chart single for Australian Catholic nun Sister Janet Mead. And she wasn't the first nun to score a hit single. I have already written about the other one. She was born Aug. 17, 1937 in Adelaide, South Australia. In the church, she was known as Sister Marietta. At age 17, she formed a band to provide music for her local church. Sister Janet studied piano at the Adelaide Conservatory and became a music teacher at two local schools. She wanted to make Mass more accessible and she held a series of Rock Masses at St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Adelaide. Sister Janet started recording for schools and churches. Festival Records producer Martin Erdman thought Sister Janet had commercial potential. He asked her to record Donovan's Brother Sun, Sister Moon. The Lord's Prayer was on the B side. So you know what happens sometimes. DJs preferred the B side. After The Lord's Prayer was a hit in Australia, A&M Records picked it up for the US and it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sister Janet donated her share of royalties to charity. The first nun to score a hit was Belgian nun Jeanine Deckers AKA The Singing Nun. She topped the charts with Dominique in 1963. I wrote about this song in 2012. You can find it by searching the blog. You can find The Lord's Prayer on this Rhino various artists comp. Sister Janet recorded an album. But the success made her question her faith. So she quit the music business. She returned later on and received recognition in Australia. But most will only remember her recording of The Lord's Prayer. Sister Janet Mead died on Jan.26, 2022 at age 84. Here's the video for The Lord's Prayer by Sister Janet Mead.
No comments:
Post a Comment