Edwin Hawkins

Edwin Reuben Hawkins (1943–2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. Born in Oakland, California, he began playing piano for his family's gospel group at age seven. In 1967, he co-founded the Northern California State Youth Choir with Betty Watson, a group later renamed the Edwin Hawkins Singers. He is credited as one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. The Edwin Hawkins Singers achieved widespread recognition with their 1968 recording of "Oh Happy Day." The song won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970 and was later included on the RIAA Songs of the Century list. Other songs from the group's 1968 catalog include "I Heard the Voice of Jesus," "To My Father's House," and "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord." Beyond his work as a performer, Hawkins was committed to gospel music education. In 1982, he founded the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar, an annual convention for gospel music.