“Oh Happy Day” (1968) – Edwin Hawkins Singers * Written (Trad. Arr.) by Edwin R. Hawkins * 45 (1969): “Oh Happy Day” / “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” * LP: Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord * Produced by La Mont Bench * Label: Pavillion
This popular gospel track by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, featuring the lead vocals of Dorothy Morrison, updated an eighteenth century hymn written by Philip Doddridge. Because it was recorded live at the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California, it has odd-sounding room noise for radio, but it nonetheless reached #4 in the US and #2 in the UK. The record influenced George Harrison, as he confirmed in his book I Me Mine, and his “My Sweet Lord” had a similar chord structure with its strong IIm7 to V chord sequence. This never came up in court, though, when Harrison stood trial for plagiarizing “One Fine Day.” It might have supported an argument that many sources, in fact, are used in creating pop music. It might also have opened discussion on how Hawkins claimed full writer’s credit for the public domain piece (and also its B-side, Charles Wesley’s “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”).
Rod Stewart, in "Rod: The Autobiography" (2012), p. 100, on seeing the Edwin Hawkins Singers live at the 1969 Singer Bowl Festival near Shea Stadium: "Woody [Ron Wood] and I thought we would go up beside the stage and have a listen to them. The choir seemed to be about sixty people strong. There were probably only about twenty of them before they had the hit, but now there were sixty. And as Woody and I looked across from the side we noticed that two of the guys in the back row, on the podium, weren't singing at all but were in the middle of a card game. We wondered whether we should inform Edwin Hawkins that he was carrying passengers, but somehow the opportunity never arose."