Janet Mead facts for kids

Janet Mead (born 15 August 1937 – died 26 January 2022) was an Australian Catholic nun. She became very well known for her pop-rock song, "The Lord's Prayer." This song was a big surprise hit in 1974. It reached number 3 on the Australian music charts and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

The song was nominated for a Grammy Award. It also won an Australian Gospel Music Award in 2004. Over 1.5 million copies of the song were sold. It earned a gold record in both Australia and the United States. Janet Mead was the second nun to have a song in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The first was Sister Luc-Gabrielle, also known as "the Singing Nun," with her song "Dominique" in 1963.

Mead taught music at St Aloysius College, Adelaide. The music video for "The Lord's Prayer" was filmed there. Even after her song became famous, she kept visiting the school to teach music to younger students.

Janet Mead's Early Life and Music Career

Janet Mead was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1937. When she was 17, she started a band called "the Rock Band." They played music for the weekly church service, called Mass, at her local church.

She studied piano at the Adelaide Conservatorium. Later, she joined the Sisters of Mercy order, which is a group of Catholic nuns. She then became a music teacher at two Catholic schools. In the early 1970s, she started exploring "Rock Mass." She wanted to make church services more interesting for her students. This led to many successful Rock Masses at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide.

The Hit Song: "The Lord's Prayer"

In 1973, Janet Mead started making professional recordings of her music. These recordings were for schools and churches. Later that year, she went to Sydney to record with Festival Records. Martin Erdman produced her music.

Festival Records wanted her to record a song called "Brother Sun, Sister Moon." This song was written by Donovan for a movie. However, Martin Erdman also wanted to record a rock version of the Lord's Prayer. He planned for it to be the B-side of the record. But "The Lord's Prayer" became the main hit song instead.

This song was the first Australian recording to sell over one million copies in the United States. It earned a gold record for both Mead and Martin Erdman. Janet Mead gave all her earnings from the song to charity. Festival Records used their earnings to improve one of their recording studios.

Albums and Later Life

Because "The Lord's Prayer" was so successful, Janet Mead recorded an album called With You I Am. This album reached number 19 on the charts in July 1974. Her second album, A Rock Mass, was a full recording of one of her special Rock Masses.

Even though the media was very interested in her, Mead did not want to continue a pop music career. She said the success of the record was a "horrible time" for her. The worldwide fame made her question her faith. Her third album, recorded in 1983, was not released at the time. It was stored away after Mead decided to stay out of the public eye.

Years later, Martin Erdman found the tapes. Some songs, including a new version of "The Lord's Prayer," were put together for the 1999 album A Time To Sing. This album was released to celebrate 25 years since her hit song.

Janet Mead never stopped loving music and performing. In 1990, she released a record called A day will come. She made this with a religious group called the Romero Community. In 2001, she directed a play based on Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

In 2004, Mead received the Yamaha Golden Gospel Award. This award recognized her important contributions to Australian Christian music. She was also named South Australian of the Year in 2004 for her work helping homeless people.

Death

Janet Mead passed away from cancer in Adelaide on 26 January 2022. She was 84 years old.

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

In Spanish: Janet Mead para niños