Sister Janet Mead, the South Australian nun who turned “The Lord’s Prayer” into a hit in 1973, has died. The Catholic nun was 84. And her rock version of the traditional prayer became a gold record in the 1970s.
Her death was reported by the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide, Australia on January 28th.
The “singing nun” became famous in Australia for her “Rock Masses,” recordings at Adelaide’s St Francis Xavier cathedral. And Festival Records turned them into records.
With “The Lord’s Prayer” Sister Mead became the first Australian to have a US gold record. It sold over 2 million copies and had distribution in 31 countries.
Her song rose to No. 3 on the Australian singles chart. And it made it to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mead donated all of the royalties on the recording to charity.
Sister Janet Mead: Hitmaking nun
She attended St Aloysius College in Adelaide. And she also studied music, specifically the piano at the Adelaide Conservatorium.
