Died On This Date (July 11, 2010) Bishop Walter Hawkins / Grammy Winning Gospel Singer

By themusicsover July 11, 2010 #Bishop Walter Hawkins, #Diahann Carroll, #Edwin Hawkins Singers, #Jeffrey Osborne, #Love Center Choir, #Sylvester, #Tramaine Hawkins, #Van Morrison

Walter Hawkins
May 18, 1949 – July 11, 2010Walter Hawkins was a Grammy winning Gospel singer and ordained Bishop who, with the help of his brother, Edwin Hawkins and their Edwin Hawkins Singers, recorded one of Gospel’s earliest crossover hits, “Oh Happy Day.” His wife, Tramaine Hawkins is an equally respected Gospel performer as well. Hawkins went solo while forming his own church during the early ’70s. His Love Center Choir won numerous accolades and found significant success with their Love Alive series which have sold in excess of one million copies. 1990’s Love Alive IV sat at the top of the Billboard Gospel charts of an astonishing thirty-three weeks. It has been reported that Hawkins contributed in one form or another to nearly 120 Gospel charting records. Over the course of his career, he collaborated with the likes of Jeffrey Osborne, Sylvester, Van Morrison, and Diahann Carroll. Bishop Walter Hawkins, age 61, died on July 11, 2010 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.