Oh Happy Day Explained

Oh Happy Day
Cover:Oh_Happy_Day_-_Edwin_Hawkins_Singers.png
Type:single
Artist:Edwin Hawkins Singers
Album:Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord
B-Side:Jesus, Lover of My Soul
Released:1968 (April 1969, U.S.)
Recorded:1967
Studio:Ephesian Church of God in Christ, Berkeley, California, U.S.
Length:4:59
Label:Pavilion/Buddah
Producer:Edwin Hawkins
Next Title:All God's Children Got Soul
Next Year:1969

"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of the 1755 hymn[1] by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and No. 2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, UK Singles Chart, and Irish Singles Chart. It has since become a gospel music standard, selling over 7 million copies worldwide,[2] [3] making it the second best-selling gospel song of all time.

The recording begins with a muted piano, drum, and bass, backing lead singer Dorothy Combs Morrison on the left-hand stereo channel, then alternates twice with a full-throated chorus that includes a large ensemble, rising to a crescendo with handclaps, and ending with a return to the muted sound as at the beginning. The track is notable for its clear sound given the powerful vocals and the modest equipment used to capture them. It was made at Hawkins' church, the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California.[4]

Origins

The gospel style arrangement of the hymn "Oh, Happy Day" by Edwin Hawkins has a long pedigree. It began as a hymn, written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice"), by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to a 1704 melody by J. A. Freylinghausen.[5] By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by Edward F. Rimbault, who also added a chorus,[6] and was commonly used for baptismal or confirmation ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from to time and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain, with all of the original verses being omitted.

The B-side of the single was Hawkins' own modern arrangement of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" originally written by Charles Wesley in 1740.[7] [8]

Recording

Hawkins rearranged the hymn to give it more of a gospel feel, and devised a piano introduction which he said was influenced by the music of Sérgio Mendes. When the choir made the recording in 1967, lead singer Dorothy Morrison added some lyrical improvisations influenced by James Brown, which, she said, "made the song feel even more current".[9]

Legacy and influence

Hawkins' arrangement quickly became a “standard” and has been recorded by hundreds of artists. It was included on the RIAA Songs of the Century list and won Hawkins a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970 (performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers).[10]

In 2005, "Oh Happy Day" was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.[11]

In live performances and acoustic versions of the Nick Cave song "Deanna" (1988), portions of "Oh Happy Day" are included, revealing the inspiration for Cave's song. George Harrison has stated the song was a primary inspiration in the writing of his 1970 international hit single "My Sweet Lord."[12] [13]

The song has appeared in many movies, beginning with the German film in 1970, but most notably Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act 2,[14] with then 14-year-old Ryan Toby singing lead. The song also appears in Big Momma's House,[15] ,[16] David LaChapelle's 2005 movie Rize,[17] Robin Williams’s 2007 movie License to Wed,[18] the 2010 biographical film produced by Walt Disney Pictures: Secretariat (played when Secretariat wins the Belmont), and Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers' performance of the song at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival appears in the 2021 music documentary, Summer of Soul.[13]

The song is regularly performed by space-rock band Spiritualized as the last song of their live sets.[19]

Personnel

The song was also included on the album Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord (1968).[20] It was released as a 7-inch single on Pavilion Records in April 1969,[21] then on the Buddah Records album It's a Happy Day also in 1969.[22]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1968–1969)!scope="col"
Peak
position
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[23] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] 2
New Zealand (NZ Listener)[25] 20
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[26] 13
US Cash Box Top 100[27] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1969)! scope="col"
Rank
Canada[28] 75
Germany[29] 2
UK[30] 36
UK (Record Mirror)[31] 42
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 93
US R&B (Billboard)28
US Cash Box 78

Awards

Other notable versions

References

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oh Happy Day - Hymn Lyrics & Music. YouTube.
  2. News: Making Room for the Music of the Lord. Hollie I.. West. . August 26, 1978. January 24, 2024.
  3. Web site: "Oh Happy Day" – The Edwin Hawkins Singers (1968). Bill Carpenter. 2. . January 23, 2024.
  4. Book: Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music . W. K. McNeil . 115 . 2013-10-18 . Routledge . 9781135377007 . 2016-10-02.
  5. News: When He Washed My Sins Away . Myers . Marc . 2012-11-23 . Wall Street Journal . 2018-01-23 . en-US . 0099-9660.
  6. P. Doddridge and E. F. Rimbault, "Happy Day", in Joseph Flintoft Berry and Charles H. Gabriel (1914), edd., Hymns of the Heart, New York: Methodist Book Concern, Hymn 134.
  7. Book: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Army_and_Navy_Hymnal/Hymns/Jesus,_Lover_of_My_Soul . The Army and Navy Hymnal/Hymns/Jesus, Lover of My Soul - Wikisource, the free online library . Jesus, Lover of My Soul . En.wikisource.org . 2016-10-02.
  8. Web site: The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day / Jesus, Lover Of My Soul - Buddah - UK - 201048 . 45cat.com . 1969-05-17 . 2016-10-02.
  9. Book: Myers, Marc . Marc Myers. 2016 . Anatomy of a Song . Grove Press . 149–152 . 978-1-61185-525-8.
  10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/13/AR2010071306089.html Hawkins Grammy Award 1970
  11. Web site: October 25, 2006 . The National Recording Registry 2005 . July 26, 2023 . The Library of Congress.
  12. DeMain, Bill. "George Harrison’s 'My Sweet Lord' Copyright Case". Performing Songwriter. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  13. Web site: Parks and Recreation: Harlem at a Crossroads in the Summer of '69. Greene, Bryan. Poverty and Race Research Action Council. June 2017.
  14. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108147/soundtrack Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit
  15. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208003/soundtrack Big Momma's House
  16. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144528/soundtrack Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
  17. Web site: Various Artists, Flii Stylz, Dizee Rascal, Christina Aguilera, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Dap & Planet Asia, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, The Caravans, Alice Ridley, Lil' C & Bloezarf - Rize - Music From the Original Motion Picture - Amazon.com Music . Amazon.com . 2016-10-02.
  18. Web site: License to Wed Soundtrack Track Listing. IMDb.com. 2016-10-02.
  19. Web site: Spiritualized - Oh Happy Day (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) [Official Audio]. YouTube.
  20. Web site: The Edwin Hawkins Singers* - Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord. Discogs. 15 January 2018.
  21. Web site: The Edwin Hawkins Singers* - Oh Happy Day. Discogs. 15 January 2018.
  22. Web site: The Edwin Hawkins Singers* - It's A Happy Day. Discogs. 15 January 2018.
  23. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 17 July 2013 . 2016-10-02.
  24. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 17 July 2013 . 2016-10-02.
  25. Web site: flavour of new zealand - search listener . Flavourofnz.co.nz . 1969-08-08 . 2016-10-02 . 2016-06-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611113442/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=1236#n_view_location . dead .
  26. Web site: SA Charts 1965 - 1989. South African Rock Lists. 17 January 2018.
  27. Web site: Top 100 1969-06-07 . . 2015-08-25 .
  28. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2018-08-18.
  29. Web site: Top 100 Single-Jahreschart 1969 . de . offiziellecharts.de . 2018-09-22.
  30. Web site: Top 100 1969 - UK Music Charts . Uk-charts.top-source.info . 2016-10-02.
  31. TOPSINGLES1969. 15. Record Mirror. December 27, 1969. January 28, 2024.
  32. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969 . Musicoutfitters.com . 2016-10-02.
  33. RPM100 . . May 5, 1970 . RPM . March 14, 2022.
  34. Web site: Oh Happy Day (Live at New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, MI - July 1987). www.youtube.com.
  35. Web site: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism - Aretha Franklin . www.allmusic.com.
  36. Club Nouveau - Chart history. Billboard. 12 July 2017.