“Oh Happy Day” almost single-handedly revolutionized gospel music, as it was the first ever gospel song to become a cross over mainstream hit. It reached #4 on the US charts and #2 on the UK charts in 1969. The Edwin Hawkins Singers would also go on to win a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance for “Oh Happy Day” that year as well, their first of three such awards. Church folk are real familiar with this song, but even the secular among us know this song thanks to Sister Act 2.

What many of you may not know is that “Oh Happy Day” was written by Oakland’s Edwin Hawkins and recorded at Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, CA. It was originally a track on a church album that they hoped would sell 500 copies, but when Bay Area radio started playing it, sales skyrocketed. The rest, as they say, is history.

DL:

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