"Goin' Up Yonder", "Oh Happy Day", & Three More Old School Gospel Songs By Walter Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins, & Their Choirs

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases five YouTube examples of old school Gospel by my favorite family of Gospel singers - the Hawkins.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Hawkins family and their choirs for their Gospel music legacy. Thanks to all those who published these examples on YouTube.
-snip-
This is a republication of a March 2012 pancocojams post, with updated format, title change, and added content.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE:
"Old school" is a usually positive, nostalgic descriptor that means "something or someone from the past". How long ago in the past is "old school" depends on the person using that adjective, but it might even be less than ten years ago.

The Hawkins family's style of Black Gospel music is from the late 1960s. Their style of Gospel music has been called "Black urban, contemporary". However, what is "contemporary" changes over time.

Here are a few comments from a discussion thread for the video "Thank You - Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir" that refers to the changes in Black Gospel music that make this style of singing "old school":
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkz0Y4rUAlg [Numbers are added to these comments for referencing purposes only]

1. Daniel Borden, 2014
"There's nothing like growing up on Classic Gospel"

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2. Pastor Hailey, 2014
"WHERE ARE THE CHURCH CHOIRS!....A FORGOTTEN BREED?"

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REPLY
3. misterjgl, 2015
"Unfortunately people aren't into choirs anyone. I grew up with choirs as a kid in the late 80's and early 90's. But most people I talk to nowadays aren't as appreciative like some of us with choirs."

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REPLY
4. Pamela Brown, 2015
"@misterjgl I agree with you. SMH. I'll take a choir over a praise team any day."

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REPLY
5. SteppinLady Underwood, 2018
"@Pamela Brown Me too! 😣"

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REPLY
6. Kenyetta Doyle, 2018
"Pastor Hailey Down south we still have church choirs."

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7. Virgin Gabilla, 2016
"I always love that the Walter Hawkins choir . choirs today doesn't sound nothing like old time religion I try my best to keep old time religion in my heart Thank You Walter Hawkins and your choir . for keeping old time religion alive thank you, thank you"

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8. shelby tolbert, 2016
"I truly miss the traditional sound of gospel. Its a blessing to be able to listen to the great sounds of James Moore, Walter Hawkins, Timonthy Wright. Thank you for your sharing this,God bless my heart is filled."

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REPLY
9. Yhancei Jackson, 2017
"Shelby tolbert I know that's right. Even a Gospel radio station(:"

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10. Queenonthemove Podcast, 2018
"I sang this song growing up in the baptist church with my grandma and it's still getting me through till this day!"

-snip-
Here are three similar comments from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04KcopeY2Og (given below as Example #1)
1. The Watchman 1844, 2016
"I'm 21 years old and I just love these old classical gospel songs. The message behind these songs is so powerful. I grew up listening to this song on the radio since I was a preteen and it never gets old to me."

**
2. The King's Queen Mrs. King, 2016
"SAAAAANNNNGGGGGGGG TREMAINE GIRL👏👏👏👏!!! 1 OF MY OLD TIME FAVS GROWING UP IN THE BAPTIST CHURCH IN THE 80S."

**
3, Blackberri 215, 2016
"I love old school gospel, it blesses my soul!"

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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
This sound files and videos are posted in particular no ranking order.

Example #1: Goin' Up Yonder" Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir



Old School Gospel Channel, Published on Jun 24, 2008

"Love Alive" Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir "Goin' Up Yonder" soloist:Tramaine Hawkins "1975"

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Example #2: "Oh Happy Day" (Original)(1968) Edwin Hawkins & Northern California State Youth Choir



Gospel Nostalgia, Published on Jun 6, 2015

This track 5 from the 1968 album "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord".
Lead by Dorothy Morrison-Combs

Written by Philip Doddridge

Arranged by Edwin Hawkins

Edwin Hawkins was a pianist at Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California when he came up with the popular Latin/Soul version of the song “Oh Happy Day” in 1968. In an October 23, 2009 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he explained that "Oh Happy Day" was one of eight arrangements he put together for the Northern California State Youth Choir, which was made up of 46 singers ages 17 to 25, and the plan was to sell an album of the songs to finance a trip to a church youth conference in Washington, D.C. The tracks were quickly recorded live in church on a two-track tape machine (industry standard at the time was eight-track), but the records weren't pressed in time for the trip. They did attend the conference, and the choir placed second in a singing competition, where they performed 2 of Hawkins' arrangements, but not "Oh Happy Day," which Hawkins said was "Not our favorite song."

500 copies of the album were made, and one of them found its way to the popular DJ Abe "Voco" Kesh at KSAN-FM in San Francisco. Other stations followed, and Buddah Records signed Hawkins to a record deal, rechristening the Northern California State Youth Choir "The Edwin Hawkins Singers" for their reissue of the album, which became a huge hit.

This song was recorded for the Gospel market, and its secular success didn't go over well with everyone at the church: local officials of the denomination circulated a petition asking secular radio stations to stop airing the song. Hawkins had a different take. He told The Chronicle: "I think they thought they were doing the right thing. What confused me about it was they were teaching us all our lives that we were to take the message everywhere."

Dan Sorkin, who was a famous DJ on radio station KSFO in San Francisco, was a big supporter of this song and gave it a huge push on his morning show. He even interviewed Dorothy Morrison and Edwin Hawkins.

This won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance.

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Example #3: Joy, Joy (Remastered: 2001)



Edwin Hawkins - Topic, Published on Sep 25, 2014

Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment

Joy, Joy (Remastered: 2001) · The Edwin Hawkins Singers

Oh Happy Day: The Best of the Edwin Hawkins Singers

℗ Originally recorded prior to 1972. All rights reserved by BMG Music Special Products

Adapter, Arranger, Director: Edwin Hawkins

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Example #4: Walter Hawkins - Going Away



vegasvalleymary3, Published on Sep 19, 2010

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Example #5: "Never Alone" (1978) Walter Hawkins



Gospel Nostalgia, Published on Jun 18, 2015

This is track 3 from the 1978 album "Love Alive II".
Lead by Frances Pye

Written by Walter Hawkins

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir- I'm Not The Same (with lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents a sound file of Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir singing the Gospel song "I'm Not The Same". The lyrics to that song are also included in this post as is a video of that choir's rendition of another version of that song. Information about Walter Hawkins is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for religious and and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT WALTER HAWKINS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins
"Walter Hawkins (May 18, 1949 – July 11, 2010) was an American gospel music singer, and a pastor. Hawkins was consecrated to the bishopic in 1992...
Hawkins was the brother of Edwin Hawkins, Daniel Hawkins (Marcia), Feddie Hawkins Smith, Carol Hawkins Kemp and Lynette Hawkins-Stephens. Bishop Hawkins was married to Tramaine Hawkins, they had two children...

Bishop Hawkins started his career in one of his brother's chorales, "The Northern California State Youth Choir" of the Church of God in Christ. Later, he accompanied his brother Edwin and founded The Edwin Hawkins Singers. This collaborative effort produced the hit song "Oh Happy Day", which became one of the first gospel songs to cross over onto mainstream music charts.[citation needed]

Walter Hawkins left The Edwin Hawkins Singers in the early 1970s to establish the Love Center Church in Oakland, California. He and his Love Center Choir had considerable success with their "Love Alive" series of recordings, which sold well over a million copies from the 1970s through the 1990s. "Love Alive IV", released in 1990, was No. 1 on the Billboard Gospel Album charts, where it stayed for 33 weeks. In all, Walter Hawkins produced and/or collaborated on 116 hit songs which were listed on the Billboard Gospel Music charts."

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE & LYRICS

I'm Not the Same - Walter Hawkins.wmv



Justin Lawrence, Uploaded on Apr 21, 2010
-snip-
The soloist is Lynette Hawkins, Walter Hawkins' sister.

Lyrics - I'M NOT THE SAME
(Walter Hawkins)

Choir- I'm not the same.
Everything has changed
Because of Christ.

Lead - I came to Christ
Just as I was.
I was lost,
Deep in sin.
I had no peace of God within.
And now I'm not the same
Because everything has changed
Because of Christ.

Lead & Choir overlapping-Somebody said,
Somebody said they told me
They said that I couldn't make it.
Somebody said,
Somebody said they told me
They said that I couldn't take it.
Oh, I’m not the same.
I’m not the same.
Everything, oh, everything has changed
Because of Christ.

Lead – Every since that day
Lead & Choir overlapping -I’m not the same etc...

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SHOWCASE VIDEO - Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir - I'm Not The Same



LoveForSure82, Uploaded on Oct 16, 2010

Love Alive V.
I have to say, I like the original version better.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Walter Hawkins for his musical legacy. Thanks to soloist Lynette Hawkins and to the other members of this choir. My thanks also to the producers of this sound file and this video and to their publishers on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Five Old School Black Gospel Songs By The Hawkins Family

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases five YouTube examples of old school Gospel by my favorite family of Gospel singers - the Hawkins.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Hawkins family and their choirs for their Gospel music legacy. Thanks to all those who published these examples on YouTube.

****
SHOWCASE YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These sound files and videos are posted in particular no ranking order.

Example #1: Goin' Up Yonder" Walter Hawkins & The Love Center Choir



Old School Gospel Channel, Published on Jun 24, 2008

"Love Alive" Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir "Goin' Up Yonder" soloist:Tramaine Hawkins "1975"

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Example #2: "Oh Happy Day" (Original)(1968) Edwin Hawkins & Northern California State Youth Choir



Gospel Nostalgia, Published on Jun 6, 2015

This track 5 from the 1968 album "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord".
Lead by Dorothy Morrison-Combs

Written by Philip Doddridge

Arranged by Edwin Hawkins

Edwin Hawkins was a pianist at Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California when he came up with the popular Latin/Soul version of the song “Oh Happy Day” in 1968. In an October 23, 2009 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he explained that "Oh Happy Day" was one of eight arrangements he put together for the Northern California State Youth Choir, which was made up of 46 singers ages 17 to 25, and the plan was to sell an album of the songs to finance a trip to a church youth conference in Washington, D.C. The tracks were quickly recorded live in church on a two-track tape machine (industry standard at the time was eight-track), but the records weren't pressed in time for the trip. They did attend the conference, and the choir placed second in a singing competition, where they performed 2 of Hawkins' arrangements, but not "Oh Happy Day," which Hawkins said was "Not our favorite song."

500 copies of the album were made, and one of them found its way to the popular DJ Abe "Voco" Kesh at KSAN-FM in San Francisco. Other stations followed, and Buddah Records signed Hawkins to a record deal, rechristening the Northern California State Youth Choir "The Edwin Hawkins Singers" for their reissue of the album, which became a huge hit.

This song was recorded for the Gospel market, and its secular success didn't go over well with everyone at the church: local officials of the denomination circulated a petition asking secular radio stations to stop airing the song. Hawkins had a different take. He told The Chronicle: "I think they thought they were doing the right thing. What confused me about it was they were teaching us all our lives that we were to take the message everywhere."

Dan Sorkin, who was a famous DJ on radio station KSFO in San Francisco, was a big supporter of this song and gave it a huge push on his morning show. He even interviewed Dorothy Morrison and Edwin Hawkins.

This won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance.

****
Example #3: Joy, Joy (Remastered: 2001)



Edwin Hawkins - Topic, Published on Sep 25, 2014

Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment

Joy, Joy (Remastered: 2001) · The Edwin Hawkins Singers

Oh Happy Day: The Best of the Edwin Hawkins Singers

℗ Originally recorded prior to 1972. All rights reserved by BMG Music Special Products

Adapter, Arranger, Director: Edwin Hawkins

****
Example #4: Walter Hawkins - Going Away



vegasvalleymary3, Published on Sep 19, 2010

****
Example #5: "Never Alone" (1978) Walter Hawkins



Gospel Nostalgia, Published on Jun 18, 2015

This is track 3 from the 1978 album "Love Alive II".
Lead by Frances Pye

Written by Walter Hawkins

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.