Walter Hawkins is dead at 61-years-old. The Grammy Award winning Gospel singer died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Ripon, California. Read about it below and see photos and a video of him performing ‘Oh Happy Day’ as well as a tribute video.
Edwin Hawkins is the younger brother of Gospel singer Walter Hawkins. He reported that his brother died on Sunday, July 11, 2010. He had been battling pancreatic cancer.
Hawkins’ cancer prevented him from attending the Stellar Awards In January, 2010 and the ‘Music & Arts Love Fellowship Conference’ organized by his brother in June 2010. The fact that he missed these events was the first time that Bishop Walter Hawkins’ illness was known to his fans.
Walter Hawkins, 61-years-old, was born in Oakland, California and studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a degree in divinity. He recorded his first album while studying at Berkeley in 1972. That album was ‘Do Your Best’.
After he graduated from college, he founded the Love Center Church in Oakland. He later recorded a series of albums for which he won nine Grammy Award nominations. He won the Grammy in 1980 for his rendition of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
He is probably best known for the popular song ‘Oh Happy Day’.
Walter L. Hawkins has ‘Gone Up Yonder’. He is survived by his brother, Edwin Hawkins, Lynette Hawkins-Stephens, his former wife Tremaine Hawkins, his son Jamie Hawkins and his daughter Trystan Hawkins. In addition, his family and numerous friends and those he has left behind at the Love Center Church.
His contribution to Gospel music has spanned 40 decades and he has been one of the most influential voices in that genre.
It is with a heavy heart that we report that Walter Hawkins is dead at 61. The award-winning Gospel singer died of pancreatic cancer and left the world a with one less bright light. Rest in Peace Walter Hawkins. Thank you for making our world a more beautiful place while you were in it.
You can see more pictures and a video of Walter Hawkins performing ‘Oh Happy Day’ below. There is also a tribute video below to this icon of Gospel music.
Photos: Carrie Devorah / www.wenn.com
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I have no words that can adequately express to you how grateful I am to God for Bishop Walter Hawkins; truly a wonderful child of God who filled my life with anointed lyrics and music delivered to us directly from the portals of heaven. He leaves a legacy of music behind that is unquestionably legendary but what is even greater is the legacy that he leaves behind in terms of how ministry in the Black Church should be conducted. Walter pioneered something few will discuss or view as a great accomplishment and that was his obedience to the Great Commission, “Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL creation.” (Mark 16:15, NASB)
So many churches in our community for years have closed their doors to same-gender loving people and dubbed them “queer, unholy, the essence of evil, and most definitely hell-bound.” As recent as a few months ago, one of our most beloved Gospel singers even called same-gender-loving people vampires, (while in the midst of a Holy Convocation) who prey upon our children with the intent to satanically sabotage their spiritual journey and shipwreck their faith by luring them into an ungodly lifestyle that will most certainly damn their souls. But Walter did the unthinkable! In an era when everything and everyone was opposed to equal rights for same-gender-loving people, he dared to open “Love Center Ministries,” a place that welcomed people of all faiths, denominations, ethnicities, and yes folks, even people of different sexual orientations. He taught them the unadulterated Gospel, taught them to truly love one another, harnessed their talents and skills and showed them how to use their dynamic God-endowed gifts to bring tremendous glory to God!
This wasn’t an easy task, I know this because I, too, am in ministry and a Bishop, but he forged ahead in spite of criticism from haters and naysayers. Now here is what is so ironic, the Black Church is just beginning to wake up from their self-induced homophobic-coma and put in place many of the types of ministries that Bishop Hawkins pioneered years ago.
Yes, I will miss his wonderful music and beautiful smile, but I believe the Word of God that not only promises life eternal but assures us that one day the dead in Christ shall rise at the trumpet blast of the Archangel and all the saints (redeemed heterosexual and same-gender-loving) who are with the Savior now shall stand in the clouds while their mortal corruptible bodies are resurrected from this planet Earth, then changed to be like His immortal incorruptible body. And in a twinkling of an eye, Bishop Hawkins and all believers who have believed on the Christ shall be clothed in an incorruptible body — in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye! (1 Corinthians 15:52)
Then we who are still alive on planet Earth and have not made our transition shall be caught up to meet them in the air (our bodies also changed [I Thessalonians 4:13-18]) and then all the saints, I repeat, all the saints will praise the Lord with thunderous shouts of praise as they gaze into the Savior’s eyes and realize that death was indeed swallowed up in victory when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. (1 Corinthians 15:54)
Without a doubt, we shall see Bishop Walter Hawkins in his new resurrected body, no doubt leading the heavenly multitudes in songs of praise and triumph unashamedly as they SHABACH the King of the Universe with these familiar words of praise: “THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE FOR ME!” (Revelation 7:9)
Bishop Terry Angel Mason, Global Author
Fountain of Life Word Center
http://WWW.TERRYANGELMASON.COM
[...] Edwin Hawkins is the younger brother of Gospel singer Walter Hawkins. He [...]Read More [...]
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