Plastic Jesus

Rush and Cromarty recorded it in 1962 as the Goldcoast Singers, on Here They Are!, a World Pacific LP (WP-1806). It is the sixth track on side A, and on that record it is introduced by spoken narration. Over the years singers added optional verses of their own, some referring to Mary, Joseph, the Apostles or the Devil.

The credit for the song has sometimes gone to others. The folk-music magazine Sing Out! printed a version of the words and music under the name of Ernie Marrs, who recorded the song in 1965, though the writers’ names stand in the ASCAP and publisher listings. In the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman’s title character sings it after learning of his mother’s death.