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Edwin Hawkins Dies, Age 74
I heard on the TV news last night that Edwin Hawkins had died. There's a thread at DU about him:
Gospel star Edwin Hawkins dies, aged 74
Edwin Hawkins, gospel star whose ‘Oh, Happy Day’ was a crossover success, dies at 74
By Associated Press January 16 at 12:54 PM
Edwin Hawkins, a Grammy Award-winning gospel star best known for the crossover hit “Oh, Happy Day” and who was a major force for contemporary inspirational music, died Jan. 15 at his home in Pleasanton, Calif. He was 74.
....
A native of Oakland, Calif., and one of eight siblings, Mr. Hawkins was a composer, keyboardist, arranger and choir master. He had been performing with his family and in church groups since childhood and in his 20s helped form the Northern California State Youth Choir. ... Their first album, “Let Us Go into the House of the Lord,” came out in 1968 and was intended for local audiences. But radio stations in the San Francisco Bay area began playing one of the album’s eight tracks, “Oh, Happy Day,” an 18th century hymn arranged by Mr. Hawkins in call-and-response style.
“Oh, Happy Day,” featuring the vocals of Dorothy Combs Morrison, was released as a single credited to the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became a million-seller in 1969, showing there was a large market for gospel songs and for inspirational music during the turbulent era of the late 1960s.
In 1970, the Hawkins singers backed Melanie on her top 10 hit “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” and won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance for “Oh, Happy Day.” ... Meanwhile, George Harrison would cite “Oh, Happy Day” as inspiration for his hit “My Sweet Lord,” and Glen Campbell reached the adult contemporary charts with his own version of the Hawkins performance. Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and numerous others also would record it.
By Associated Press January 16 at 12:54 PM
Edwin Hawkins, a Grammy Award-winning gospel star best known for the crossover hit “Oh, Happy Day” and who was a major force for contemporary inspirational music, died Jan. 15 at his home in Pleasanton, Calif. He was 74.
....
A native of Oakland, Calif., and one of eight siblings, Mr. Hawkins was a composer, keyboardist, arranger and choir master. He had been performing with his family and in church groups since childhood and in his 20s helped form the Northern California State Youth Choir. ... Their first album, “Let Us Go into the House of the Lord,” came out in 1968 and was intended for local audiences. But radio stations in the San Francisco Bay area began playing one of the album’s eight tracks, “Oh, Happy Day,” an 18th century hymn arranged by Mr. Hawkins in call-and-response style.
“Oh, Happy Day,” featuring the vocals of Dorothy Combs Morrison, was released as a single credited to the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became a million-seller in 1969, showing there was a large market for gospel songs and for inspirational music during the turbulent era of the late 1960s.
In 1970, the Hawkins singers backed Melanie on her top 10 hit “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” and won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance for “Oh, Happy Day.” ... Meanwhile, George Harrison would cite “Oh, Happy Day” as inspiration for his hit “My Sweet Lord,” and Glen Campbell reached the adult contemporary charts with his own version of the Hawkins performance. Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and numerous others also would record it.
Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He (as leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers) was probably best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the Songs of the Century list. The Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts exactly one year later, backing folk singer Melanie on "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)".
So let's have some videos.
