While checking out music for a Sunday morning post, I ran across a video from Harlem Gospel Choir and could not resist posting it. They sing "Oh Happy Day", a number based on an 18th Century song by English clergyman Philip Doddridge but with updates and arranged by Edwin Hawkins in the 1960s. When recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers for a 1969 release, the song went to #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Hawkins' arrangement quickly became a classic, and sung by many. That would include the Harlem Gospel Choir.
"Go Down Moses" is a spiritual that describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically the book of Exodus. The song was most famously done by Paul Robeson, whose deep and resonant voice injected depth to whatever he sang. The song was popular during the Civil War, especially by those active with the Underground Railroad. The song was also important to the Civil Rights activists in the 1960s. Here is the wonderful version of the Harlem Gospel Choir.
To learn more about Harlem Gospel Choir, visit their official website.
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