Gospel star Edwin Hawkins  known for 'Oh Happy Day ' dies
Edwin Hawkins
NEW YORK (AP) â Edwin Hawkins  the gospel star best known for the crossover hit "Oh Happy Day" and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music  died Monday at age 74.
 Hawkins  died at  his  home in Pleasanton  California.  He  had been suffering from pancreatic cancer  publicist Bill Carpenter told The Associated Press.
Along with Andrae Crouch  James Cleveland and a handful of others   Hawkins  was credited as a founder of modern gospel music. Aretha Franklin  Sam Cooke and numerous other singers had become mainstream stars by adapting gospel sounds to pop lyrics.  Hawkins  stood out for enjoying commercial success while still performing music that openly celebrated religious faith.
An Oakland native and one of eight siblings   Hawkins  was a composer  keyboardist  arranger and choir master.  He  had been performing with  his  family and in church groups since childhood and in  his  20s helped form the Northern California State Youth Choir.
Their first album  "Let Us Go into the House of the Lord " came out in 1968 and was intended for local audiences. But radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area began playing one of the album's eight tracks  "Oh Happy Day " an 18th century hymn arranged by  Hawkins  in call-and-response style.
"Oh Happy Day " featuring the vocals of Dorothy Combs Morrison  was released as a single credited to the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became a million-seller in 1969  showing there was a large market for gospel songs and for inspirational music during the turbulent era of the late 1960s.
"I think our music was probably a blend and a crossover of everything that I was hearing during that time "  Hawkins  told blackmusic.com in 2015. "We grew up hearing all kinds of music in our home. My mother  who was a devout Christian  loved the Lord and displayed that in her lifestyle.
FILE - In this June 17  2008 file photo  gospel singer Edwin Hawkins performs during an event celebrating Black Music Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Hawkins  the gospel star best known for the crossover hit "Oh Happy Day" and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music  died early Monday at age 74. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari  file)
In 1970  the  Hawkins  singers backed Melanie on her top 10 hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance for "Oh Happy Day."
Meanwhile  George Harrison would cite "Oh Happy Day" as inspiration for his hit "My Sweet Lord " and Glen Campbell reached the adult contemporary charts with his own version of the  Hawkins  performance. Elvis Presley  Johnny Mathis and numerous others also would record it.
 Hawkins  went on to make dozens of records and won four Grammys in all  including for the songs "Every Man Wants to Be Free" and "Wonderful!" In 2007   he  was voted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.  He  also toured on occasion with younger brother Walter Hawkins  a Grammy winner who died in 2010.
 Edwin Hawkins  is survived by  his  siblings Carol  Feddie  Daniel and Lynette.
NEW YORK (AP) â  [TGT] the gospel star best known for the crossover hit "Oh Happy Day" and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music  died Monday at age 74.
  [TGT] died at   [TGT]   home in Pleasanton  California.   [TGT]   had been suffering from pancreatic cancer  publicist Bill Carpenter told The Associated Press.
Along with Andrae Crouch  James Cleveland and a handful of others    [TGT] was credited as a founder of modern gospel music. Aretha Franklin  Sam Cooke and numerous other singers had become mainstream stars by adapting gospel sounds to pop lyrics.   [TGT] stood out for enjoying commercial success while still performing music that openly celebrated religious faith.
An Oakland native and one of eight siblings    [TGT] was a composer  keyboardist  arranger and choir master.   [TGT]   had been performing with   [TGT]   family and in church groups since childhood and in   [TGT]   20s helped form the Northern California State Youth Choir.
Their first album  "Let Us Go into the House of the Lord " came out in 1968 and was intended for local audiences. But radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area began playing one of the album's eight tracks  "Oh Happy Day " an 18th century hymn arranged by  Hawkins  in call-and-response style.
"Oh Happy Day " featuring the vocals of Dorothy Combs Morrison  was released as a single credited to the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became a million-seller in 1969  showing there was a large market for gospel songs and for inspirational music during the turbulent era of the late 1960s.
"I think our music was probably a blend and a crossover of everything that I was hearing during that time "  Hawkins  told blackmusic.com in 2015. "We grew up hearing all kinds of music in our home. My mother  who was a devout Christian  loved the Lord and displayed that in her lifestyle.
FILE - In this June 17  2008 file photo  gospel singer Edwin Hawkins performs during an event celebrating Black Music Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Hawkins  the gospel star best known for the crossover hit "Oh Happy Day" and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music  died early Monday at age 74. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari  file)
In 1970  the  Hawkins  singers backed Melanie on her top 10 hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance for "Oh Happy Day."
Meanwhile  George Harrison would cite "Oh Happy Day" as inspiration for his hit "My Sweet Lord " and Glen Campbell reached the adult contemporary charts with his own version of the  Hawkins  performance. Elvis Presley  Johnny Mathis and numerous others also would record it.
 Hawkins  went on to make dozens of records and won four Grammys in all  including for the songs "Every Man Wants to Be Free" and "Wonderful!" In 2007   he  was voted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.  He  also toured on occasion with younger brother Walter Hawkins  a Grammy winner who died in 2010.
 Edwin Hawkins  is survived by  his  siblings Carol  Feddie  Daniel and Lynette.