“Superstar” (1969) – Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers * Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice * 45: “Superstar” / “John Nineteen Forty-One” * LP: Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) * Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice * Label: Decca * Charts: Billboard #14; UK: #47
The 1969 leadoff single for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s ambitious rock opera starring the Son of God did its part in generating anticipation for an album that wouldn’t hit shelves until late 1970. The single sleeve attributes the track as coming “from the Rock Opera ‘Jesus Christ’ now in preparation.” The single would enter the US Billboard charts three separate times between 1970 and 1971, and appeared on the UK singles chart as late as 1972. A promo clip featuring vocalist Murray Head, who would be Judas Iscariot in the musical and who had recently starred in a London run of Hair, shows him climbing around cathedral ruins and singing alongside a chorus of six women billed as the “Trinidad Singers.” Its early association with the “Respect” or “Oh Happy Day” tradition ought not to be discounted as a broad appeal factor.