Jesus Is a Friend of Mine (The Story of the Greatest Viral Video of All Time)

In 2008, when the “Jesus Is a Friend of Mine” video blew up on YouTube, it seemed almost too good to be true. An early '80s Christian ska video from public access television? Was this even real? The video is hilariously of its time, the lyrics are religious but also kind of silly, and the ska music at its core — incredibly — is actually good! On this episode of In Defense of Ska, the gang gets into the true story of the ska-tastic piece of internet history.

First off, the video is very much real. It was penned by Sonseed, a catholic band from New York that formed in the ’70s and broke up in the early ’80s. Shortly before breaking up, they appeared on a small television show in New York called The First Estate. Then, twenty-five years after the song was recorded, it unexpectedly went viral.

To tell the story of the video, the In Defense hosts talk to four people: Sal Polichetti (bassist of Sonseed and writer of the song), Paul Williams (leader of the British ska band The Skapones), Jamie Loftus (internet culture expert and host of 16 Minutes), and Doug Prinzivalli (owner of Dougsploitation, the site that introduced the web to the video in 2008).

So, sit back and listen to the story of the greatest viral video to ever graze the internet above, and make sure to like, review, and follow the series wherever you get your podcast. Don't forget to check out all the Consequence Podcast Network series here.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon! 

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Sign up for the Patreon to support the podcast and get access to our extended conversation with Rob Harvilla.

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