Voices From the Choir: Oh Happy Day Reflections

We would like to introduce you to our podcast series, Voices From The Choir: Oh Happy Day Reflections. I will be your host for these nine episodes as we hear the personal stories from some of the original members of the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ. As they reflect on their amazing journey in 1969 singing in the State Youth Choir. After recording an album to raise money to travel to a church choir competition, things change when one of the songs broke out to be a hit record. The song was Oh Happy Day, and its success changed everything. It changed their lives and changed the gospel music world, even to this day. The choir transformed into the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and they were thrust into taking their gospel message onto the world stage, performing with some of the biggest artists in music.

During our 50 years of marriage, Steve and I have often discussed telling the story of the Northern California State Youth Choir’s journey from a denominational church choir into one of the world's top recording artists. We are excited to share for the first time the stories of some of the choir members journey. I am one of the voices you will hear along with some of the original members of the Northern California State Youth Choir. In 1968, the choir recorded an album titled Let US Go Into the House of the Lord. This album included Oh Happy Day. In the spring of 1969, Oh Happy Day reached the US top five on the Billboard charts. On its way to selling 7 million records and won a Grammy Award.

The inspiration for this podcast is from the Academy Award winning documentary Summer of Soul, directed by Questlove, which was centered around the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a seminal African-American cultural event that went untold for 50 years. You're going to be hearing stories about growing up in the Bay Area with its rich gospel music history. You will hear stories about raising families, building community and finding joy in spiritual food and daily life.

Seeing footage of the choir singing at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival captured in the Summer of Soul documentary sparked the flame to share stories of our collective yet individual reflections as some of the original members of the Edwin Hawkins Singers. The Harlem Cultural Festival represented one of the many entertainment venues the choir sang at. We sing at rock festivals, jazz festivals, concert halls, Yankee Stadium, and appear on popular television shows of the day. This is a time to tell our story, which has remained stored in our collective memories but not shared beyond friends and family. These reflections show the impact of the music from the album. Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord and how its message impacted the world in our lives.

Yes, the stories of the teens and young adults who grew up in the Bay Area in the shadow of the civil rights movement, the Black Panther movement, and the protests surrounding the escalation of the Vietnam War. Their music provided a message for the world to cope with the national and global issues at that time and continue to resonate today. We hope you will be inspired and encouraged by the stories that you will hear. You can find Voices From The Choir Oh Happy Day Reflections wherever you listen to podcasts.