Hawkins is best known for groundbreaking gospel arrangements, particularly "Oh Happy Day." Hawkins' publicist Bill Carpenter told the Associated Press that the singer died early Monday at his home ...

A disc jockey at the Bay Area FM station KSAN, Abe Kesh, began playing one particular track, "Oh Happy Day." "The catchy song spread, and, with the group renamed the Edwin Hawkins Singers ...

His crowning achievement was bringing his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day," originally an 18th Century hymn, to wide audiences. The song debuted 50 years ago in 1968 and became the first gospel song ...

Pleasanton, CA – Edwin Hawkins, the four-time Grammy® Award-winning leader of The Edwin Hawkins Singers’ 1969 million-seller, “Oh Happy Day,” died January 15 at his home in the Bay area ...

His hit, “Oh Happy Day,” blended gospel and secular sounds, and became the first gospel song to reach the Top 40 charts. In 1969, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and No. 4 ...