Plastic Jesus
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- For the novella by Poppy Z. Brite, see Plastic Jesus (novella).
"Plastic Jesus" is an American folk song. The authorship of the song has been historically attributed to either Ed Rush and George Cromarty or Ernie Marrs. Ed Rush and George Cromarty wrote the song in 1957 and recorded it (as a humorous ad spoof) in 1962 as the Goldcoast Singers on World-Pacific Records "Here They Are! The Goldcoast Singers" (wp-1806). Rush and Cromarty still receive royalty checks from the song and are listed as the authors by ASCAP. Ernie Marrs is sometimes credited as the songwriter due to the lyrics and music being credited to him when they were published in the folk music magazine Sing Out! volume 14, #2. Still others trace the song further back to African-American spiritual roots, and indeed Ed Rush has stated that the inspiration for the song came from a religious radio broadcast from Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the 1940's that contained the line "I don't care if it rains or freezes, leaning on the arms of my Jesus".
Ernie Marrs, along with the "Marrs Family" (friends Kay Cothran and Bud Foote) recorded a version of Plastic Jesus in 1965 that was featured in the motion picture Cool Hand Luke (1967). In the film, Paul Newman also sings the song while playing a banjo. The song was covered by the Flaming Lips on their album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (1993), though on the album the track is titled "*******". It has also been covered by Billy Idol on the album Devil's Playground.
Over the years, the folk tradition of this song has grown. Several additional, optional verses have been added to the song. Many folk lyrics refer to Jesus, but several other verses refer to Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, or the Devil.
