Friday, August 19, 2022

August 19 - Edwin Hawkins (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 19th are here: George Enescu (2019), Gerard Schwarz (2020), and George Enescu (2021)

 

Edwin Hawkins (19 August 1943 – 15 January 2018) was an influential American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Spreading the Word

His LP found its way into the hands of a San Francisco DJ who happened to pick "Oh Happy Day" to play on his station; it became an instant hit. It crossed over to the pop charts and it then became an international success, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide, and Hawkins was awarded his first Grammy for it. -- adapted from Wikipedia

When local DJs gave some play

To Hawkins’s “Oh Happy Day”

It was a huge and instant hit,

And Hawkins earned a career from it.


I do not know if those who bought it

Had religion yet, or sought it,

But maybe there were some who caught it,

And joined a church as eager walk-ins

Inspired by Mr. Edwin Hawkins.

 

 

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