The Edwin Hawkins Singers
Edwin Hawkins was a gospel musician, pianist, vocalist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. As the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he was probably best known for his arrangement of “Oh Happy Day”. 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 (COGIC), which included almost fifty members.
The Choir led by Hawkins and Watson, produced a Rhythm and Blues infused gospel album on the Pavilion label titled, Let Us Go into the House of the Lord (1968). The album which was recorded at Ephesian Church of God in Christ, included eight songs. One of those songs, “Oh Happy Day” exploded in popularity after it was released as a single in 1969. In less than a year 900,000 copies of the single had sold. Once “Oh Happy Day” started being played in other parts of the country, they began to get in contact with the right people in the industry who helped them get a major record deal.
They 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, making it to number 4 in the U.S, and number 2 in the UK. It also reached number 2 in Canada and number 2 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song and album reached number 1 on the French Singles Charts and the German Singles Charts in 1969. An international success, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide, the Edwin Hawkins Singers was awarded his first Grammy for it in 1969 for Best Comtempory Gospel Recording.