Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about the song "Oh Happy Day", and information about the 1993 movie Sister Act.
The lyrics for Edwin Hawkin's arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" are included in this post along with a YouTube video of that song as performed in the 1993 movie Sister Act II.
Selected comments from that embedded video's discussion thread are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Edwin Hawkins, the arranger of this 18th century hymn. Thanks to all those who are featured in this video and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-edwin-hawkins-singers-oh-happy-day.html for the March 2013 pancocojams post entitled "Three Renditions Of The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day".
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/11/sister-act-2-finale-joyful-joyful.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Sister Act 2 (Finale) - Joyful Joyful (information, video, &" comments)
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE EDWIN HAWKINS ARRANGEMENT OF "OH HAPPY DAY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Happy_Day
"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of an 18th-century hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and No. 2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, UK Singles Chart, and Irish Singles Chart. It has since become a gospel music standard.
The recording begins with a muted piano, drum, and bass backing lead singer Dorothy Combs Morrison on the left-hand stereo channel, then alternates twice with a full-throated chorus that includes a large ensemble, and ends with a return to the muted sound at the beginning. The track is notable for its clear sound given the powerful vocals and the modest equipment used to capture them. It was made at Hawkins' church, the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California.[1]
Origins
Edwin Hawkins’ gospel style arrangement of the hymn "Oh, Happy Day" has a long pedigree. It began as a hymn written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice") by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to an earlier melody (1704) by J. A. Freylinghausen.[2] By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by Edward F. Rimbault, who also added a chorus,[3] and was commonly used for baptismal or confirmation ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from 3 4 to 4 4 time and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain, with all of the original verses being omitted.
The B-side of the single was Hawkins' own modern arrangement of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" originally written by Charles Wesley in 1740.[4][5]
Legacy and influence
Hawkins' arrangement quickly became a “standard” and has been recorded by hundreds of artists. It was included on the RIAA Songs of the Century list and won Hawkins a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970 (performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers)."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT "SISTER ACT II"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Act_2:_Back_in_the_Habit
" "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is a 1993 American musical comedy film loosely based on the life of Crenshaw High School choir instructor Iris Stevenson, and starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act. Most of the original cast reprise their roles in the sequel...
Plot
Deloris van Cartier has become a famous performer in Las Vegas since her time posing as a nun to hide from the mob. During her latest performance, she reunites with her friends, Sisters Mary Patrick, Mary Robert, and Mary Lazarus. They ask for her help, reuniting her with Reverend Mother, who explains that the convent nuns now work as teachers at the St. Francis Academy in San Francisco, which Deloris attended as a child. The school faces closure at the hands of its administrator, Mr. Crisp, unless the school's reputation can be improved. The nuns ask Deloris to reprise her persona as Sister Mary Clarence and become the new music teacher. Deloris reluctantly agrees.
At the school, Mary Clarence meets the school's staff of monks, led by the humble but inept Father Maurice. She attends her first music class, meeting the rowdy teenagers, who are merely there to “pass” just by attending classes. Mary Clarence butts heads with the ringleader, Rita Louise Watson, who walks out when Mary Clarence introduces a firmer hand in class. The other students stay to avoid failure. When they break into spontaneous, synchronised singing, Mary Clarence decides to turn them into a choir, to which the students at first object.
Mary Robert overhears Rita singing, and Mary Clarence convinces her to return to the class. The class and nuns restore the school's decrepit music room and practice extensively, later performing "Oh, Happy Day" before the whole school, led by the preachy but talented vocalist Ahmal. The nuns discover numerous trophies, revealing the school won the All-State Choir Championship multiple times in the past, and decide to enter the choir once again. Father Maurice gives his blessing to the choir's entry, as long as they raise the money themselves and each student obtains parental consent to attend.
[...]
Cast
Whoopi Goldberg – Deloris Van Cartier / Sister Mary Clarence
[...]
Lauryn Hill – Rita Louise Watson
[...]
Ryan Toby – Ahmal"....
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LYRICS: "OH HAPPY DAY"
(arranged by Edwin Hawkins)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day)
Oh, it's a happy day (Oh, happy day)
He taught me how (He taught me how)
To watch and fight and pray
Watch and pray
And live rejoicing every day
Every day
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed)
He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day)
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
He taught me how (He taught me how)
To watch and fight and pray
Watch and pray
And live rejoicing every day (Good god)
Every day
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, it's a happy day (Oh, happy day)
Oh, lord (Oh, happy day)
Mmm, good God (Oh, happy day)
Oh yeah (Oh, happy day)
Mmm, oh (Oh, happy day)
Source: https://genius.com/Edwin-hawkins-oh-happy-day-lyrics
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Sister Act 2 - Oh Happy day
LucaDeMarco, Jun 19, 2007
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Here are a few comments from that video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only.
2016
1. EATeezey
"That high note is legendary."
**
REPLY
2. Esther Larose
"yasss 😍"
**
REPLY
3. MasterQ 19
"it gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it"
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2019
4. Yvng Alpha
"When God gives you his vocals real quick
p.s. Whoopi turned around like ” Where was that in practice”
**
REPLY
5. Devin Booker
"They didnt tell her or certain ppl in the seats that he could hit that high note"
**
6. Basidoll
"I read that the part of him hitting the note wasn’t rehearsed before so Whoopi’s reaction is her actual real reaction."
**
REPLY
7. DurDurk Nigwinzki
"Basidoll that's true haha"
**
REPLY
8. Dana Konadu
"THAT MAKES IT 10x FUNNIER she’s just like AND WHY DID YOU DO THIS BEFOREHAND"
**
REPLY
9. Oli W
"The whole build up was him not being able to hit the high notes and then getting the confidence to go for it. It's the point of the scene. That Goldberg wouldn't have know is ridiculous"
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From https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108147/trivia
"The famed high note performed by Ryan Toby (Ahmal) during the "Oh, Happy Day" song is an E natural high, one of the highest and toughest notes to hit for singers and vocalists. Toby was sixteen-years-old during the shooting of this movie"
**
REPLY
10. Basidoll
"Oli W don’t shoot the messenger dude that’s what I had read somewhere. There are articles about it online."
**
11. American Born
"Whoopie turned around like "no he didn't" 😦"
**
REPLY
12. Kayla Lin
"American Born yea because the note he hit wasn’t rehearsed so that was her real reaction basically"
**
13. Maeyi Quinn
"@Kayla Lin How was it, when all music is pre-recorded.."
**
REPLY
14. Ofc. Jo Phi
"@Maeyi Quinn she didn't hear that version of the recording"
**
15.Stephanie Rickenbacker
"He needed a Gospel Record Deal! The boy can Sing! 2019"
**
REPLY
16. Nejemiah Mathews
"He ended up being the lead singer for City High"
**
17.
Patricia Patrick
"Lauren Hill is in the house! (At about 12 years old.)"
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Actually, Lauren Hill was 18 years old when she co-starred in this movie. After Sister Act II Lauren Hill became a member of the Hip Hop trio The Fugees.
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