Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Hawkins ( born August 18, 1943 in Oakland, California ) is a major representative of American gospel music. His name is above all the world hit Oh Happy Day is connected, 1969 sung by the gospel choir bearing his name Edwin Hawkins Singers.
Hawkins comes from a family with a strong musical background. Even as a seven year old, he was responsible to accompany the gospel choir his family at their performances throughout the program on the piano. In May 1967, he founded the 46 persons ( 17-25 years old) full gospel choir Northern California State Choir. This needed money for a trip to the "Annual Youth Congress of the Churches of God in Christ" (annual Youth Church Congress ) in June 1968 in Washington, DC Therefore, the choir asked Century Record Productions to make a recording of their choruses. With saved $ 1800 they financed the recording of gospel LP Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord in the church Ephesian Church of Christ in Berkeley with an edition of 500 pieces. Using an outdated Ampex two-track tape (modern eight-track machines were ) were added 8 hymns only with piano, bass and drums, lead singer Dorothy Combs Morrison sings with throaty alto empathic. Among them was the longest become public domain titles Oh Happy Day.
LaMont Bench belonged to the small record label Pavilion Records in Oakland and was given permission to press 1,000 additional copies for commercial sale. Only 600 copies have been sold thereof. One of the copies fell into the hands of the radio DJ Abe " Voco " Keshishian at KSAN FM in San Francisco in February 1969. The station was known as the Underground station, but decided to give an intense airplay " Kesh ," Oh Happy Day. Also, the transmitter KOIT in San Francisco took over the song in his playlist. Neil Bogert of Buddah Records heard the record on the radio and signed a distribution agreement with Pavilion Records. The gospel choir was marketed by Buddah Records and renamed the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Oh Happy Day was anticipated coupled out of the LP as a single and in April 1969 as Oh Happy Day / Jesus, Lover of My Soul ( Pavilion 20001 ) published. The single was a top 20 recommendation in the Billboard issue dated 19 April 1969. She arrived as a massive crossover hit both the U.S. Rhythm & Blues ( Rank 2 ) and the U.S. pop singles chart (Rank 4) and sold within two weeks of the publication one million copies. Following the release in the UK on May 18, 1969 she reached there Rank 2 of the hit parade. The gold record was awarded to her by the RIAA on June 3, 1969, is the first certified single in the gospel sector. A total of 7 million records were sold and awarded 4 Grammy Awards in the United States around the world. In Germany and in Switzerland, he was even at rank 1 of the national charts.
About a year after Oh Happy Day accompanied the choir Melanie during the recording of their first title success Lay Down ( Candles in the Rain).
He got the award, among others for a production with the world famous Oakland Symphony Orchestra and for the LP Every Man Wants to be Free. " Oh Happy Day " made it to the list of Songs of the Century.
In 1982, Hawkins founded the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar. The seminar runs every year for a week and serves to promote the exchange of ideas among gospel musicians and to discover new talents.