This is the only Gospel song ever to crossover and become a hit on the Pop charts. The song dates from 1755. It is included in the standard Baptist hymnal.<br /><br />[url=http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the_edwin_hawkins_singers/oh_happy_day/]<img src='http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/215396.jpg' />[/url]<br /><br />The Edwin Hawkins Singers were eight members from the 46-piece Northern California State Youth Choir. The larger ensemble was formed to travel around the United States for the Church of God in Christ. This was recorded cheap to raise money for a choir's trip to a youth convention in Cleveland.<br /><br />The group recorded this in the basement of the Berkeley Ephesian Church of God on a two-track tape recorder (the industry standard in 1967 was eight-track). It was intended only for the Gospel market in Cleveland; 600 copies of the LP that contained "Oh Happy Day" were sold. <br /><br />In 1969, a San Francisco Rock promoter found a copy of the album in a warehouse as he was flipping through a stack of Gospel records. He bought it and gave it to Dan Sorkin, a famous DJ on radio station KSFO. Sorkin loved the song and played it 2 or 3 times each day during his 3 hour show and interviewed Dorothy Morrison and Edwin Hawkins. Overwhelming demand caused the song to be released as a single - one million copies were sold in 2 months.
