Oh Happy Day

It's not often that a hymn makes it into the pop charts, at least a gospel song adapted from a hymn. The Edwin Hawkins Singers had an international hit with their version of Oh Happy Day in 1968. It reached number two in the UK and number four in the US. The song started life as a hymn with words written by an English clergyman, inspired by the book of Acts in the bible. It was a popular part of church services in the 19th century in Britain and America.

During the 20th century, the old hymn was given a quicker tempo and Hawkins later adapted it to his group's soulful, gospel style. His arrangement repeated the hook and removed all of the verses. The result was a catchy, feel good celebration of life and Oh Happy Day became a gospel standard, the first of its kind to find its way into mainstream pop.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers had been created as a youth choir for members aged 17 to 25. After Hawkins co-founded the group, they made an album called Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord, which they produced and marketed themselves on a shoestring. The recording would have fallen into obscurity if not for one of its songs, Oh Happy Day, with lead vocals by Dorothy Morrison. A DJ heard the song and it began to be played on local radio stations. The song was released as a commercial single and it took off like a rocket.

The gospel song, which had been recorded in a church in Oakland, California, went on to win a Grammy Award in 1970 for Hawkins and his singers for Best Soul Gospel Performance. The group was feted wherever they went and the record was an influence on future soul and gospel artists. Oh Happy Day seemed to have a life of its own and numerous cover versions have been released. The song still gets airplay today and the opening bars are immediately recognizable.

The group was not totally unused to the limelight before the success of the record. They had previously provided backing vocals to singer songwriter Melanie on her song, Lay Down (Candles In the Rain.) The unexpected achievement of Oh Happy Day was one of those examples of serendipity that happens from time to time and it got everyone tapping their feet and clapping in time. The original melody was composed in 1704, so you could say it was a slow burner.

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