Edwin Hawkins Singers - The Buddah Collection

  by Nicky Crewe

published: 25 / 9 / 2018

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In 1969 the Edwin Hawkins Singers took their single, 'Oh Happy Day', into the charts all over the world selling seven million copies. One of those copies was sent through the post to me, a gift from a new boyfriend. Its joyful and optimistic message takes me back to those days. Memories last but the boyfriend didn’t. In the beginning Edwin Hawkins was involved in a gospel choir whilst at college. Simple recordings were made as a fundraiser for his church. Buddah Records picked up on the recordings, changed the name of the choir and released 'Oh Happy Day' as a single. The tune and song were out of copyright, so Hawkins was able to claim the arrangement. In interviews he revealed that he disapproved of artists who had moved from church-based gospel to soul and pop for commercial and financial reasons. The Edwin Hawkins Singers and their recordings for Buddah, however, had huge commercial success in the late Sixties and early Seventies, and gospel music continued to be influential in the music made by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Blind Faith, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Edwin Hawkins Singers backed Melanie on her 1970 single 'Lay Down' and George Harrison acknowledged the inspiration for 'My Sweet Lord'. More recently Nick Cave used the song in 'Deanna'. Many of the best soul and R&B singers developed their singing in gospel choirs. We have recently lost one of the greatest, Aretha Franklin. I once went to a Smokey Robinson concert where there were times when we were congregation, not audience. Al Green rediscovered his gospel roots. Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, the Staples Singers, Elvis, Tom Jones and so many more have given us an appreciation of this spiritual style of music. It also gave a voice to the civil rights movement. There’s always a tension between the sacred and the profane. Lyrics can praise the lover or praise the Lord. The nature of radio stations in the States made it difficult for gospel to cross over as a genre, but the Edwin Hawkins Singers won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970. This double CD does what it says on the cover. There are twenty-six tracks ranging from 'Oh Happy Day' to 'Blowing in the Wind' and 'He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands'. The secular becomes the spiritual. There are gospel hymns. There is even a selection of Christmas songs and carols, just in time for this year’s seasonal playlist. The Singers have a big choral sound. There are no rough edges, it’s a refined and smooth production. Some of the recordings are live from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, mixing up the gospel with the classical. There are soloists but they aren’t stars. The harmonies and phrasing that are choral in gospel music were taken up by individual’s voices in Tamla and soul music. This is sanctified music, with lovely arrangements and carefully production. For me there isn’t another song on the album that captures the joyfulness of 'Oh Happy Day', but it is a fascinating introduction to the growing influence of gospel music on popular music in the Sixties and Seventies, inspiring artists who had no personal connection with gospel church singing.

Track Listing:-

1 Oh Happy Day
2 My Lord Is Coming Back
3 Ain't It Like Him
4 Jesus Lover of My Soul
5 He's My All and All
6 Blowin' in the Wind
7 Let Us Go Into the House
8 Listen to the Rain
9 Early in the Morning
10 He's a Friend of Mine, Blowin' in the Wind
11 To My Father's House
12 Just a Closer Walk With Thee
13 He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
14 When You Try, Footprints of Jesus
15 All You Need, Praise Him
16 I Believe, Pray for Peace
17 White Christmas, Blowin' in the Wind
18 Silent Night, We Three Kings
19 What Child Is This
20 Oh Holy Night

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/iamedwinhawkins/

Label Links:-

http://www.floatingworldrecords.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/floating.worldrecords
https://twitter.com/floatingwrecord

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