"Jacob's Ladder" is a song written by

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

and his brother John Hornsby and recorded by American rock band

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News (formerly known as Huey Lewis & The American Express) are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singl ...

. The song spent one week at No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1987, becoming the band's third and final number-one hit.

Writing and recording

Set in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, the song marries the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

image of

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder () is a ladder or staircase leading to Heaven that was featured in a dream the Biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of the dream has been de ...

to someone who rejects

proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

evangelists (first, an obese street preacher, followed by a televangelist claiming to need money or be forced off the airwaves) and is instead struggling to get through life one day at a time:

Step by step, one by one, higher and higher Step by step, rung by rung, climbing Jacob's ladder.

The song was given by Hornsby to his friend Lewis and it appeared on the group's 1986 album ''

Fore! ''Fore!'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released on August 20, 1986. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went on to score five top-ten ''Billboard' ...

''. The song was originally meant for an album for Hornsby that Lewis was producing. Hornsby did not like the version his band played but suggested that Lewis play it that way for his upcoming album. It was the third single released from the album, and topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for a week in March 1987.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine wrote that the song is "insightful" and "wrestles with spiritual issues." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised the "soaring chorus" and "powerful

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Music video

A music video was filmed of the band performing the song in a live concert shot at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena on December 31, 1986.

Later versions

Bruce Hornsby later recorded his own rendition of the song for his 1988 album, '' Scenes from the Southside''. It became part of his concert repertoire as well; a live bluegrass-influenced version (very different from the version on ''Scenes from the Southside'') appears on the 2006 album '' Intersections (1985–2005)'', which Hornsby performed with his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1986 songs 1987 singles Huey Lewis and the News songs Bruce Hornsby songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Chrysalis Records singles Songs written by Bruce Hornsby Songs written by John Hornsby