Voices From the Choir: Oh Happy Day Reflections

• Gwendolyn Mitchell

  Gwendolyn Lee Mitchell is the youngest sister of Arva Campbell and one of the youngest members of The Northern California State Youth Choir, at the age of 14. Gwen talks about growing up in The Bay Area surrounded by the youth of Ephesians Church of God In Christ. She describes being on tour as a family affair, the many siblings who were part of the choir, and the parents who chaperoned when they toured. She shares her favorite songs on the album and how this music became an important part of who she is today.Highlights:A shy Gwen is invited into what would become The Edwin Hawkins Singers, after simply singing the scales;Ed’s arrangements of gospel music really spoke to her as a singer;Gwen performs at the choir’s first big concert at the University of California Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, with Cannonball Adderley and Nina Simone;Gwen performs at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Gardens, flying in an airplane for the first time, and meeting celebrities like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and José Feliciano; andGwen stops touring with the choir to turn her focus back to finishing high school.In the next episode, meet Pastor Ronald Thompson, a classmate of Edwin Hawkins and another voice in the choir.

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• Clara Williams (Part 1)

  Clara Williams reflects on growing up in West Oakland, California and attending Berkeley High School. Her father started his ministry as an associate ordained minister at Ephesians Church of God In Christ (COGIC) - known for its flagship status as one of the largest pentecostal churches in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area during the early sixties. Clara shares her experiences as a “PK” (preacher’s kid) when her father “accepted the call” and became a full-time pastor at the “Power House”, COGIC, while maintaining a full-time job with the City of Berkeley. She admires her Dad, who subsequently received a doctorate in Divinity. Clara shares the strong community values she learned during her childhood, In speaking of the Crystalettes, a family social club that her parents and other African American families created to provide a wholesome supportive space for their families. Clara recalls the origins of the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ, started by bay area gospel singer celebrities, Edwin Hawkins and Betty Watson. Clara recounts the gospel scene in the Bay Area and the prominent gospel groups during the 1960s. She remembers her rich experience, and describes the “Oh Happy Day” recording and performances as a testimony she wants to share.Highlights:In 1966, Clara discovers the Northern California Youth Choir, and sees an opportunity to have additional church activities outside of her father’s church;The choir’s recording project to sell their own music, begins as a fundraiser to finance a trip to an east coast COGIC youth conference, becomes an unexpected mega billboard hit;Dorothy Morrison, a member of Clara’s church, is selected as the lead singer, and “Oh Happy Day” is recorded in 1968;Despite the excitement of the recording, Clara’s family faces the challenge of her mother’s diagnosis of a life long heart condition she could no longer endure without surgical intervention in 1968, and she is worried that her mother may not survive the new surgical procedures; andIn the next episode, Clara’s story continues and “Oh Happy Day” becomes an overnight success.

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• Voices From The Choir_Series Trailer

  Steven Hi, my name is Steven Williams. Clara And my name is Clara Williams. Steven 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. Clara 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. Steven 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. Clara Seeing footage of the choir singing at the 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 to the House of the Lord and how its message impacted the world in our lives. Steven 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 continues 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.

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• Diane Williams

  Diane Williams, cousin of Co-Host, Clara Williams shares a story that is part of the motivating force behind the creation of this podcast. Diane talks about growing up in the Church of God In Christ, with a family who loved gospel music. She shares her journey from shame to self-love, after becoming a pregnant teen. She talks about the people who influenced the music of that era and celebrates how singing in the choir healed her life.Highlights:Just after high school, a young Diane becomes pregnant and is shunned and isolated for her “sin.”Shortly after the birth of her son, Diane is disappointed because she could not participate in the first national tour with the Edwin Hawkins singers; Diane takes cousin Clara’s spot on the second tour, when Clara decides to go to college; andDiane discovers ministry and healing through song. In the next episode, Gwendolyn Lee Mitchell shares her experience as one of the youngest members of the choir.

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• Kathi Gaines (Part 1)

  Kathy Gaines was one of the original members of the Northern California State Youth Choir. She speaks of her family’s migration from the rural South to The West - first Berkeley, then Oakland, California. Encouraged to sing at an early age, Kathy performed without shyness or reservation. Kathy explores the rich music history and legacy of hymnals in the black church and the evolution of gospel music. She recalls the “first families”of music in the Bay Area, women leaders of the COGIC, and the standard of excellence that was set in gospel music during this unprecedented time.Highlights:When a bus full of church members breaks down, Kathy’s mother suggests she entertain them with a song. Kathy performs her first solo at church, “Jesus Loves Me”;Kathy joins the Northern California Youth State Choir. Children from different COGIC churches come together to represent the Northern California district in a way never represented before; and The choir finds ways to overcome the unique challenges of travel for black folks in the 1960s.In the next episode, the conversation continues, with Kathy Gaines.

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