The Lord's Prayer (Sister Janet Mead song)

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"The Lord's Prayer"
The Lord's Prayer - Sister Janet Mead.jpg
Single by Sister Janet Mead
B-side"Brother Sun and Sister Moon"
ReleasedFebruary 1974 (1974-02)
Recorded1973
Genre
  • Rock
  • Contemporary Christian
LabelFestival, A&M (U.S.)
Songwriter(s)
  • Traditional
  • Arnold Strals
Producer(s)Martin Erdman
Sister Janet Mead - Australia singles chronology
"The Lord's Prayer"
(1974) 		"The Earth is Filled"
(1974)
Sister Janet Mead - US singles chronology
"The Lord's Prayer"
(1974) 		"Take My Hand"
(1974)

"The Lord's Prayer" is a rock setting of the Lord's Prayer with music by Arnold Strals recorded in 1973 by the Australian nun Sister Janet Mead.[1][2] Mead was known for pioneering the use of contemporary rock music in celebrating the Roman Catholic Mass and for her weekly radio programs.[3]

The recording was produced by Martin Erdman and originally released by Festival Records in Australia.[3] After reaching number three on the charts in Australia, it went on to become an international smash, selling nearly three million copies worldwide and making the upper reaches of the pop charts in territories as diverse as Canada, Japan, Brazil, Germany, and the United States.[1]

In the United States, "The Lord's Prayer", picked up for American distribution by A&M Records (catalog number 1491, b/w "Brother Sun and Sister Moon").[3] It was certified gold for sales of one million copies.[3][4] The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 23 February 1974, charted for thirteen weeks and reached a peak of number four during Holy Week in April. The record also reached number two on the Adult Contemporary singles chart.[5] It made Mead the first Roman Catholic nun to have a hit record in the United States since Jeanine Deckers, the Singing Nun, hit #1 with "Dominique" in late 1963.[3] It also became the only song to hit the Top 10 in which the entire lyrical content originated from the words of the Bible. More specifically, it is the only Top 10 hit whose lyrics were attributed to Jesus Christ.

Mead was nominated for a Grammy for Best Inspirational Performance (although she lost to Elvis Presley's How Great Thou Art) and also became the first Australian artist to sell one million U.S. copies of a record produced in Australia.[3] She donated all of her royalties from the recording's massive international sales to charity, and her record label used their share of the proceeds to build a new state-of-the-art recording studio.[3]

Mead re-recorded "The Lord's Prayer" in 1999 for her comeback album, A Time to Sing.[1]

Mead's version was covered in the satirical stage musical Disaster!.

Chart history[]

Sister Janet Mead version[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions[]

Johnny Mathis covered "The Lord's Prayer" in the style of Sister Janet Mead, in 1980. His version was a non-album track and was used as the B-side of "When a Child Is Born."

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Janet Mead profile". Hardrushmusic.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. ^ "The Lord's prayer [music] / Music by Arnold Strals". trove.nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Janet Mead profile". Milesago.com. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (12 October 1974). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 6–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 166.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 20 April 1974. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 27 April 1974. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 4 May 1974
  10. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  11. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 20, 1974
  12. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (16 January 2018). "Image : RPM Weekly".
  13. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  14. ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1974
  15. ^ "Cash Box Magazine" (PDF). Cash Box. 6 April 1974. p. 49. Retrieved 15 November 2021 – via World Radio History.


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