Sister Janet Mead (1938? - 2022)

[Dale Latimer]

Kent Kotal, of ForgottenHits.com fame, passed this on to me...

Sister Janet Mead, a South Australian nun who had a 1970s hit with a rock version of “The Lord’s Prayer” that made her the first Australian with a US gold record, has died at 84.

Mead died Wednesday of cancer, according to the The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide, Australia.

She rose to fame in Australia after her “Rock Masses,” recorded at Adelaide’s St Francis Xavier cathedral, came to the attention of Festival Records. Her 1973 recording of “The Lord’s Prayer” sold 2 million copies and was distributed in 31 countries.

The song rose to No. 3 on the Australian singles chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. All of the royalties on the recording were donated to charity by Mead.

Mead entered the Sisters of Mercy convent in 1955 after attending St Aloysius College in Adelaide. She also attended the Adelaide Conservatorium, where she studied piano.

During her career, she produced multiple plays, liturgies and more than 20 musicals, and also ran the St. Aloysius College orchestra for many years. Her work saw her recognized as South Australian of the Year in 2004. She was also recognized for her services to Australian Christian music and given the Golden Gospel Award.

deadline.com/2022/01/sister-janet-mead-the-lords-prayer-rock-hit-was-84-obituary-1234922356/

dL

[mrjukebox]

I remember "The Lord's Prayer"-That was a rather unique rendition to say the least.

[trekkielo]

May Sister Janet Mead rest in peace

"Now on American Top 40 it's time for the current hit by the singer from, Adelaide, South Australia, who's been packin' 'em in at church by the thousands, you see, this girl never intended to be a singer, when she joined the convent 19 years ago, but she always felt that, music was a way to attract young people to, formal religion, about a year and a half ago Sister Janet Mead started organizing rock masses, at the Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide, attracting regular crowds of more than two thousand people, and the success of these masses, has grown so much, that Sister Janet Mead has her, own backup rock group, her own radio show, and now has her own hit on AT40, at #14 this week here is, The Lord's Prayer..." - Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from March 23rd, 1974

[dth1971]

Jan 30, 2022 18:37:23 GMT -5 trekkielo said:

May Sister Janet Mead rest in peace

"Now on American Top 40 it's time for the current hit by the singer from, Adelaide, South Australia, who's been packin' 'em in at church by the thousands, you see, this girl never intended to be a singer, when she joined the convent 19 years ago, but she always felt that, music was a way to attract young people to, formal religion, about a year and a half ago Sister Janet Mead started organizing rock masses, at the Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide, attracting regular crowds of more than two thousand people, and the success of these masses, has grown so much, that Sister Janet Mead has her, own backup rock group, her own radio show, and now has her own hit on AT40, at #14 this week here is, The Lord's Prayer..." - Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from March 23rd, 1974

Casey also lead into for Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer" at one point "We had the Singing Nun and the Flying Nun, now here's the rocking nun..."

[trekkielo]

Jan 30, 2022 18:55:58 GMT -5 dth1971 said:

Jan 30, 2022 18:37:23 GMT -5 trekkielo said:

May Sister Janet Mead rest in peace

"Now on American Top 40 it's time for the current hit by the singer from, Adelaide, South Australia, who's been packin' 'em in at church by the thousands, you see, this girl never intended to be a singer, when she joined the convent 19 years ago, but she always felt that, music was a way to attract young people to, formal religion, about a year and a half ago Sister Janet Mead started organizing rock masses, at the Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide, attracting regular crowds of more than two thousand people, and the success of these masses, has grown so much, that Sister Janet Mead has her, own backup rock group, her own radio show, and now has her own hit on AT40, at #14 this week here is, The Lord's Prayer..." - Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from March 23rd, 1974

Casey also lead into for Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer" at one point "We had the Singing Nun and the Flying Nun, now here's the rocking nun..."

At #35 on May 18th, 1974!

[djjoe1960]

I recall singing this version of the Lord's Prayer in church during the 1970's.

It was great to hear something we sang at Mass on the radio, at the time.