Saturday Night Live Gospel Black History Song of the Night
- Edwin Hawkins (1943–2018) was a trailblazing American gospel musician, pianist, and choir director whose visionary approach helped shape the urban contemporary gospel sound.
- He rose to international prominence with his groundbreaking 1968 arrangement of Oh Happy Day. Featuring lead vocalist Dorothy Morrison, the song became a global phenomenon—selling millions of copies, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969, and earning Hawkins his first Grammy Award
- Edwin Hawkins also founded The Music & Arts Gospel Convention and mass choir which gave opportunities to aspiring writers to submit their music to be recorded annually for decades.
Saturday Night Live Gospel Black History Song of the Night
About Edwin Hawkins known as The Father of Urban Contemporary Gospel Music
Edwin Hawkins (1943–2018) was a trailblazing American gospel musician, pianist, and choir director whose visionary approach helped shape the urban contemporary gospel sound. Born in Oakland, Hawkins began playing piano at just five years old and went on to become one of gospel music’s most influential innovators.
He rose to international prominence with his groundbreaking 1968 arrangement of Oh Happy Day. Featuring lead vocalist Dorothy Morrison, the song became a global phenomenon—selling millions of copies, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969, and earning Hawkins his first Grammy Award. The success of “Oh Happy Day” marked a pivotal moment, propelling gospel music into mainstream popular culture.
Blending traditional gospel foundations with contemporary R&B influences, Hawkins redefined the genre’s sound and reach. He founded the Northern California State Youth Choir, which later evolved into the Edwin Hawkins Singers—a group that became synonymous with innovation, excellence, and crossover appeal in gospel music.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Hawkins received four Grammy Awards, including honors for Every Man Wants to Be Free (1971) and Wonderful (1980). In recognition of his enduring influence and contributions to sacred music, he was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Edwin Hawkins’ legacy endures through his recordings, his groundbreaking approach to gospel music, and the countless artists he inspired—cementing his place as a visionary who forever expanded the sound and reach of gospel.
Edwin Hawkins also founded The Music & Arts Gospel Convention and mass choir which gave opportunities to aspiring writers to submit their music to be recorded annually for decades. This choir is now under the leadership of Donald Lawrence and known as Music & Arts Global. Here’s a video of one of their songs written by another Gospel Legendary musician & writer A. Jeffrey LaValley Revelations 19:1.
Saturday Night Live Gospel Black History Song of the Night was originally published on praiseindy.com
