{"id":271234,"date":"2018-01-16T17:25:03","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T22:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=271234"},"modified":"2018-01-16T17:25:03","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T22:25:03","slug":"rip-gospel-music-star-edwin-hawkins-famous-for-oh-happy-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2018\/01\/rip-gospel-music-star-edwin-hawkins-famous-for-oh-happy-day\/","title":{"rendered":"RIP gospel music star Edwin Hawkins, famous for ‘Oh Happy Day’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From the BBC:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The American gospel music star Edwin Hawkins has died at his home in California, at the age of 74.<\/p>\n

The Grammy-winning singer had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, his publicist said.<\/p>\n

Hawkins was regarded as a pioneer of urban gospel music, blending gospel hymns with secular sound. He is best-known for the 1969 hit Oh Happy Day.<\/p>\n

The following year the Edwin Hawkins Singers backed Melanie on her top 10 hit Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

About his signature hit:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Edwin Hawkins\u2019\u00a0gospel style<\/a>\u00a0arrangement of the hymn \u201cOh, Happy Day\u201d has a long pedigree. It began as a hymn written in the mid-18th century (\u201cO happy day, that fixed my choice\u201d) by English\u00a0clergymanPhilip Doddridge\u00a0(based on\u00a0Acts\u00a08:35) set to an earlier melody (1704) by\u00a0J. A. Freylinghausen. By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by\u00a0Edward F. Rimbault<\/a>, who also added a chorus,\u00a0and was commonly used for\u00a0baptismal\u00a0or\u00a0confirmation\u00a0ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from\u00a03\/4\u00a0to\u00a04\/4 time\u00a0and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain, with all of the original verses being omitted.<\/p>\n

The B-side of the single was Hawkins\u2019 own modern arrangement of \u201cJesus, Lover of My Soul\u201d originally written by\u00a0Charles Wesley<\/a>\u00a0in 1740.<\/p>\n

Hawkins\u2019 arrangement quickly became a \u201cstandard\u201d and has been recorded by hundreds of artists. It was included on the\u00a0RIAASongs of the Century\u00a0list and won Hawkins a\u00a0Grammy Award\u00a0for\u00a0Best Soul Gospel Performance\u00a0in 1970 (performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In live performances and acoustic versions of the\u00a0Nick Cave\u00a0song \u201cDeanna\u201d (1988), portions of \u201cOh Happy Day\u201d are included, revealing the inspiration for Cave\u2019s song.\u00a0George Harrison\u00a0has stated the song was a primary inspiration in the writing of his 1970 international hit single \u201cMy Sweet Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song has appeared in many movies, beginning with the German film\u00a0Seventeen and Anxious<\/i>\u00a0in 1970, but most notably\u00a0Whoopi Goldberg\u2019s\u00a0Sister Act 2<\/a><\/i>,\u00a0with then-17-year-old\u00a0Ryan Toby\u00a0singing lead. The song also appears in\u00a0Big Momma\u2019s House<\/a><\/i>,\u00a0Nutty Professor II: The Klumps<\/a><\/i>,\u00a0David LaChapelle\u2019s 2005 movie\u00a0Rize,\u00a0<\/a><\/i>Robin Williams\u2019s 2007 movie\u00a0License to Wed<\/a><\/i>.,\u00a0and in 2010 biographical film produced by\u00a0Walt Disney Pictures:\u00a0Secretariat<\/a><\/i>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can hear the definitive version by the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the video below. The song never fails to make me smile. God bless him.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hzj3pOdCOqU<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the BBC: The American gospel music star Edwin Hawkins has died at his home in California, at the age of 74. The Grammy-winning singer had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, his publicist said. Hawkins was regarded as a pioneer of urban gospel music, blending gospel hymns with secular sound. He is best-known for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":271243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-mind"],"yoast_head":"\nRIP gospel music star Edwin Hawkins, famous for 'Oh Happy Day'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From the BBC: The American gospel music star Edwin Hawkins has died at his home in California, at the age of 74. 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