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Black Music Month - St. Louis

Source: Creative Services / creative services

Walter Hawkins is a member of the legendary Hawkins Family. His older brother, Edwin Hawkins was the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, made popular due to the 1968 hit “Oh Happy Day.” Walter was married to Tramaine Hawkins, who was also a member of the Hawkins Singers and her husband’s “Love Center Choir.”

During his 30-plus-year career in gospel, which consisted of at least 14 albums since 1975, Hawkins created an extensive catalog of music both as a solo artist and with his family ensemble.

Walter Hawkins left the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the early 1970s to establish the Love Center Church in Oakland, California. He and his Love Center Choir had considerable success with their Love Alive series of recordings, which sold well over a million copies from the 1970s through the 1990s. Love Alive IV, released in 1990, was No. 1 on the Billboard Gospel Album charts.

July 11th, 2010, Walter passed away due to Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 61.

Black Music Month: Walter Hawkins  was originally published on 955thelou.com