Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...
,
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
, choir master,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Def ...
, and
arranger
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 orchest ...
. 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
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)".
Biography
Hawkins was born in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
, on August 19, 1943. At the age of seven, he was already the keyboardist to accompany the family's gospel group.
Together with Betty Watson in May 1967, he was co-founder of the Northern California State Youth Choir of the
Church of God in Christ
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness– Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly ...
(COGIC), which included almost fifty members. This ensemble recorded its first album, ''Let Us Go into the House of the Lord'', at the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
(on the Century 70 custom label owned by LaMont Branch). The choir used this LP as a fundraiser to go to the 1968 Youth Congress for the COGIC in Washington, D.C. to compete in the annual choir competition and represent the Northern California area. The choir did come in second place at the competition, but that was one of many surprises coming their way. Upon their return from that trip, the LP found its way into the hands of a KSAN Underground Rock DJ in San Francisco who happened to pick "Oh Happy Day" to play on his station; it became an instant hit. The soloists on the album were Elaine Kelly, Margarette Branch,
Dorothy Combs Morrison
Dorothy Combs Morrison (born Dorothy Marie Combs, May 8, 1944) is an American gospel music singer. She sang lead vocal on the song "Oh Happy Day" recorded in 1967 by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
Biography
She was born in Longview, Texas, and grew u ...
(the original lead singer on "Oh Happy Day"), Tramaine Davis (Hawkins), Reuben Franklin, Donald Cashmere, Betty Watson, and Ruth Lyons.
Once "Oh Happy Day" started being played in other parts of the country and the group was made aware of its rising success on the radio, they began to get in contact with the right people in the industry who helped them get a major record deal. The group signed on with the newly created Pavilion label (distributed by Buddah), and released a second LP, called ''He's A Friend Of Mine'', in 1969, but it was "Oh Happy Day" that rocketed to sales of more than a million copies within two months. It crossed over to the pop
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
, making U.S. No. 4, UK No. 2, Canada No. 2, No. 2 on the Irish Singles Chart, and No. 1 on the French Singles Charts and the German Singles Charts in 1969. It then became an international success, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide, and Hawkins was awarded his first Grammy for it. His arrangement of the song was eventually covered by The Four Seasons on their 1970 album ''Half & Half''.
The choir's second LP Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts was the 1970
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," on which the label listed the performers as "Melanie with The Edwin Hawkins Singers". The song peaked at No. 6 in the U.S. and Top 10 in several other countries.
In 1990, Hawkins, credited as a solo performer, had a number 89 hit on the
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
with "If at First You Don't Succeed (Try Again)".
In the 1992 movie ''
Leap of Faith
A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason.
Overview
The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...
'', Hawkins is the choir master for the gospel songs.
The Edwin Hawkins Singers performance of "Oh Happy Day" at the 1969
Harlem Cultural Festival
The Harlem Cultural Festival was a series of events, mainly music concerts, held annually in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, between 1967 and 1969 which celebrated African American music and culture and promoted Black pride. The most successful ...
appears in the 2021 music documentary, ''
Summer of Soul
''Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)'' is a 2021 American documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in his directorial debut. It had its world premiere at the ...
''.
Hawkins died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancr ...
on January 15, 2018 in his home, in
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton wa ...
, at the age of 74.
Discography
Albums
*1968: ''Let Us Go into the House of the Lord''
*1969: ''He's A Friend Of Mine''
*1969: ''Oh Happy Day'' (
Buddah Records
Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...
re-issue of previous 1968 LP)
*1969: ''Jesus, Lover of My Soul''
*1969: ''Hebrew Boys''
*1969: ''Lord Don't Move That Mountain''
*1969: ''Ain't It Like Him''
*1970: ''Live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam''
*1970: '' Candles in the Rain'' with
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...
*1970: ''Pray For Peace''
*1970: ''More Happy Days''
*1971: ''Try the Real Thing''
*1969: ''Peace Is Blowin' In The Wind''
*1971: ''Children Get Together''
*1972: ''I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing''
*1973: ''New World''
*1976: ''Wonderful''
*1977: ''The Comforter''
*1977: ''Edwin Hawkins Presents the Matthews Sisters''
*1979: ''Edwin Hawkins Live at the Symphony''
*1981: ''Edwin Hawkins Live with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra''
*1982: ''Imagine Heaven''
*1982: ''Edwin Hawkins Live with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra & The Love Center Choir Volume II''
*1983: ''Edwin Hawkins presents The Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir''
*1984: ''Angels Will Be Singing'' with the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
*1985: ''Have Mercy'' with the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
*1987: ''Give Us Peace'' with the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
*1988: ''People in Need'' with Tramaine Hawkins and the Edwin Hawkins Singers to benefit Homeless USA
*1988: ''That Name'' with the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
*1990: ''Face to Face''
*1994: ''Kings and Kingdoms'' with the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
*1995: ''Anything is Possible''
*1998: ''Love Is the Only Way''
Compilations
*1989: ''18 Great Songs''
*1998: ''The Very Best Of''
Awards and honors
Altogether Hawkins has won four
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s:
*1970: Best Soul Gospel Performance – "Oh Happy Day", performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers
*1971: Best Soul Gospel Performance – "Every Man Wants to Be Free", performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers
*1977: Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary – "Wonderful!"
*1993: Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album – choir director on ''Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Seminar Mass Choir – Recorded Live in Los Angeles'', performed by the Music & Arts Seminar Mass Choir
In 2007, Hawkins was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame; he attended the formal awards show in 2009.