Edwin Hawkins

Nearly thirty-three years ago, a little-known community choir from northern California recorded and released a standard Gospel song for its annual convention. The selection was a familiar Baptist hymn, reworked and modernized to the tempo of the times, primarily by one of the workshop's co-founders - Mr. Edwin Hawkins.

The title aptly given to this sleeper hit was simply Oh Happy Day. The song would quietly move from a local underground favorite to the top of America's Pop charts and eventually on into a part of American history as Gospel's unofficial theme song..

As an anthem, Oh Happy Day changed the direction and magnitude of Contemporary Gospel music, moving it from the safe confines of the Black church to a part of the mainstream American music industry.

With over seven millions units sold to date, Oh Happy Day continues to hold the enviable title as Gospel music's most popular song and album sold. Adding a feather to his cap of achievements, Edwin Hawkins was awarded the coveted Grammy Awards for the album - Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord (Buddha) - that featured the hit single.

Some thirty-three years later, Edwin Hawkins can boast of numerous Grammy, Dove and Stellar Awards, an internationally recognized music convention (Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Seminar) and a family that has collectively revolutionized the sound and style of Gospel music for today's generation.

GOSPELCITY.COM had the privilege of exchanging with this figure frequently referred to as a 'living legend' about the story behind the song, Oh Happy Day, his special relationship with Walter Hawkins, his take on today's quest for crossover success and his relative silence as an artist in recent years. It was, by far, the most interesting exchange we've encountered in some time. We hope you feel the same.

Christopher Heron: Let me begin by probing into the evolution and fallout that came with the incredible hit song, Oh Happy Day. Can you give me a sense of how things unfolded back then, as Oh Happy Day became Gospel music's single most popular Gospel song ever?

Edwin Hawkins: That was one of several songs we had to rearrange or write for Northern California State Youth Choir (that's what we were called at that time). It was the suggestion of the record company, once we signed, to change our name. We were not allowed to use the church's name or any affiliation with the Church of God in Christ at that time.

So it was their idea to use the name Edwin Hawkins Singers. We did the recording on a two-track machine at our church, Ephesians Church of God of Christ in Berkeley, California. Bishop E. E. Cleveland was the pastor of the church, and he was also Tramaine's (Hawkins) grandfather. We were going to hand sell the initial 500 albums and make a contribution back to the church.

There was a young man who took it to the underground rock station and it became a big hit in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area. The sister station in New York was sent the album and it hit there. The rest, as they say, is history.

CH: Did that commercial success also come with a lot of backlash from the C.O.G.I.C. church you were affiliated with?

EH: Very much so, in fact there was a petition handed out to many pastors in the Bay Area to get the song off rock or secular radio, because it was played there first before it was played on gospel stations. But the church was teaching us we should take the message into the highways, the byways, everywhere. So we had a tough time with that, we didn't quite understand that.

CH: When you think back to those days and reflect on some of the crossover success now experienced by such artists as Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary, does it bring a sense of deja vu?

EH: Pretty much it is, although the intention was quite different. Ours was just a fluke, as some might categorize it. We went in with the intention of just recording a pure gospel album that we knew was a little bit different from the ordinary, but we didn't think it was that much different.

Whereas today a company will ask artists to purposely come in and create something that they can purposely, and pretentiously, crossover to the other market. I think I understand the things these gospel artists go through mentally and emotionally.

You are sort of in a situation where you have to decide: is this really ministering or am I just trying to create another hit record? Should I just be happy for all the success and how should I respond to this kind of popularity? It's a difficult situation, so I don't fault the artist, I understand.

We are all human, everybody wants to be successful. But I think we have to be a little bit different because of our Christian walk with the Lord. The Bible says "we are in the world but not of the world." I sometimes think if I allow myself to have even a critical thought about some of these artists that crossover then I have to really go back to where I was at that time.

I won't allow myself to criticize what they are doing because I think we should always be relevant, even in our music. So on the same line of thought are we going to be relevant or are we really going to copy what the world does? That's not to criticize but we have to be aware that the world should want to be like us, not we like them. We really have to be careful as we create and do our music. Let's just be prayerful about what we are doing, while we are doing it, and understand the real motive behind what we do.

CH: You described your music then as being essentially gospel, maybe a little different but still gospel. What the Hawkins Family brought to gospel music in the 70's and into the early 80's was somewhat revolutionary in terms of the sound and feel in comparison to what was already recorded by other artists like Rev. James Cleveland, Thomas Dorsey, Albertina Walker, etc. Your music had a very strong pop influence or crossover appeal. Would it be fair to categorize the West Coast sound of the Hawkins Family that way?

EH: Somewhat yes. You mentioned James Cleveland, of course I was very much influenced by him as well, and in fact I don't think we've given him his due as yet. Many talk about Thomas Dorsey and then they kind of skip over and talk about Edwin Hawkins, yet Rev. Cleveland influenced many.

They're carrying on the Gospel Music Workshop of America, which is the largest gospel convention in the world, and that's because of Rev. James Cleveland. When you think about influences I certainly have to consider him for what he's contributed to me. He, the Caravans, the Clara Ward Singers and all those wonderful artists of that day influenced me.

But in my home, my mother was the musical side of the family. She had brothers that were very musical, in fact one of her brothers was a professional jazz musician. Every now and they she would allow him and his band to come over (we lived in the projects) and rehearse at our house, so I heard a lot of jazz music. So I think as you grow up you are influenced, of course, by what you hear. That's a part of your life and you begin to create, pull from those sources.

CH: There was such a strong musical influence pouring out from the Bay Area back in those days, and of course all the political and social activity wrapped up along with it like Sly and the Family Stone, The Black Panthers and others; did that have any influence on what the Hawkins Family was doing musically?

EH: I think that one of the huge things that happened here with the flower children in the late 60's, early 70's, and, of course, we were just coming out of the end the Vietnam War as well. So some of my earlier writings reflected that.

They talked about peace of the world, peace blowing in the wind, and we did other songs about peace and love, so I was definitely influenced by the things that were going on politically in our country and around the world. But I think after that point we really went back to writing real simple gospel lyrics.

CH: So much is said about you and brother Walter but little is known in recent times about two other prominent and influential members of the Hawkins family. What is going on with Lynette Hawkins-Stephens and your brother Daniel Hawkins? EH: Daniel has been rather quiet. In fact he's been back in our church for the last few years working with the music department. He wanted to do a praise & worship kind of project (our styles are quite similar coming from the same family) but Daniel's style is a little more jazz-oriented but he's writing all the time. So in the near future, we hope to come together and do something with him featuring his compositions.

With Lynette, she doesn't write but she's a dynamic singer, so we write for her. Of course, she will be featured on our next project. She works alongside both Walter and myself with the church choir, so you'll be hearing some things in the near future. We have four masters now, from the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir that we're waiting to release.

CH: That has also been an ongoing question; your music has been such an influence on today's artists and has had such a major following across North America. However, it also appears as though your music is less and less accessible. Has the numerous changes of record labels like Bellmark and CGI/Platinum hurt your ministry? And what is the current status of your recording career? Do you plan to release new music?

EH: I'm not sure if I can answer when we are going to release any of these projects at the moment. But in answer to the first part of your question, I think that's been a great part of what I would call a problem or situation. We have gone from one record label to another in a very short amount of time and, for whatever reason, the music has not been properly promoted, in my opinion.

Now with Music and Arts, I don't write a lot of that material, I produce those projects. That entity is designed to introduce other writers, new writers that then become a part of our conference (Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar). Each year we meet wonderful talent and it is our aim to allow them an opportunity to be heard, which is really what our conferences are all about.

CH: Back in the 70's when so much was going on with the Hawkins Family, another popular artist in California was also making a whole lot of noise for the Kingdom by the name of Andrae Crouch. What has been the musical and social relationship between the two musical icons, the Hawkins Family, Edwin Hawkins and Andrae Crouch?

EH: Well, we grew up in the same church organization (C.O.G.I.C.) together and prior to us really doing any recording commercially that is, we would travel back and forth, from Southern California to Northern California doing musicals together; these were the kind of things that would happen almost every weekend.

They would come here, we would go there and we would sing together. As a matter of fact, I was at his church just this past July, there was a Swedish choir that came for a conference and we took them on a California trip along the coast. Anyway, we talked about getting together the way we used to and maybe even doing some projects together. We're all getting older and it would be fun if we did something that we would have to treasure, for sure.

CH: The relationship and brotherhood between you and Walter has been part of the dynamics that has raised you into a realm that few gospel artists have ever experienced. Can you explain how both of you have complemented one another's musical ministries?

EH: I have to contribute that closeness to my mother, my father too, but she was the one to make sure we stayed together, loved one other and always encouraged the other. So Walter was there from the beginning, he's my younger brother, actually the youngest brother of the Hawkins family.

There were eight children and he was the youngest boy - five boys, three girls. I think he was there when we organized a choir and he traveled with us. When Walter was called to the ministry, I committed myself to be a part of that and I am until this day. So there's not a project that either of us has released that the other is not a part of, it's something we purposely maintain.

If the family comes together occasionally to eat together, or talk together, we maintain that closeness. With both our parents being gone they sort of made me the head of the family even though I'm not the oldest, I'm in the middle. But I'm the oldest living brother, my eldest brother passed away sometime back. So we make a point of sticking together and supporting one other. We really do love each other so it's easy to do, it's easy to support each other.

CH: For those ambitious artists who are discovering the perks and disappointments attached to the music industry, what kind of counsel, recommendation or suggestion would you offer?

EH: Well, as gospel artists, we need to treat it a little differently. All of us would like to make lots of money, live well while here on this earth. That, however, cannot be the main objective.

I remind myself when I hear so many ministers on radio, television and it seems to be a thing now where they are appealing to the masses greed - if you come to God he'll do this, he'll do that, just a whole lot of talk about money and seldom do you hear them talk about the scriptures. Out of his own mouth, Jesus said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom and all these things will be added". That always sticks with me that we've got to seek God's will first. There's nothing wrong with being rich, nothing wrong with having the better things of life, but when it's out of place then I think we're not in the will of God. Then we have companies saying they are Christian; they hide behind the Christian name and we've got to be careful. We've got to always pray about what we're doing before we sign anything. We need to have good counsel.

If we could find good Christian counsel it's even better, someone that's praying with you for the right decision. Even with us praying, we sometimes want to move ahead of God because we're eager, anxious. The Bible says, "be anxious for nothing", but because we're human we make these mistakes and God knows.

He's aware of all that what we're going to do and what we're not going to do. Sometimes He allows us to go through some things even though we might make the wrong decision and it might take years to straighten out. But God knows and He'll stick with us throughout it all. Even through the bad times, He'll stick with us.

CH: Do you feel good about the state of gospel music and how it's evolving into the mainstream, as well as how artists, management, and record labels are handling this God-centered ministry?

EH: I feel good about where it is; I'm not always sure if I feel good about the way it's handled. God is always using music; from the beginning of time, music was always a major element in the ministry of the Body of Christ.

I think we're in such a good position and it's up to us to make sure we don't destroy or mar that image. Some of us will, but God is still God. We have to help Him but He is still God.

We can't embarrass Him, we cannot destroy His reputation, we can destroy our own reputation sometime. I think gospel music is in a good position to do what needs to be done musically in that part of the ministry.