Source: The Belle Report / Sheilah Belle
My last picture with The Godfather of Contemporary Gospel Music and Legend Edwin Hawkins during the Gospel Music Workshop of America in Birmingham, AL.
He transitioned from this life on Monday, January 15, 2018. May we keep his family in prayer.
Edwin Hawkins, the four-time Grammy® Award-winning leader of The Edwin Hawkins Singers’ 1969 million-seller, “Oh Happy Day,” died at his home in the Bay area, after a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 74 years old.
“My mother had an old hymnal and I had a knack for rearranging hymns,” Hawkins once said. “`Oh Happy Day’ was an old hymn and I rearranged it.
In 2001, The Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) ranked “Oh Happy Day” No. 63 on its Top 365 Songs of the 20th Century listing. The song has been covered by dozens of artists, including Quincy Jones, Johnny Mathis, Glen Campbell, Aretha Franklin, Jason Mraz, Susan Boyle, The Oak Ridge Boys and Elvis Presley.
Hawkins is survived by his siblings Carol, Feddie, Daniel, and Lynette. Funeral arrangements are pending.
May we keep the family in our prayers.
Courtesy of www.thebellereport.com
