| Gospel music has always been in Grammy Award winner Lady Tramaine Hawkins' soul. Hawkins, the legendary gospel singer who is a member of the Gospel Hall of Fame, is headlining the 4th Annual Gospel Festival November 24 at the Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center. Ever since she was little, Hawkins felt compelled to put how she feels into song."I sang at the age of four," Hawkins said in a telephone interview with The Capital City Hues. "My brother used to say to my mom when we were kids 'Mom, Mamie-- that's what they called me at the time -- sings all the time, all day long. Can you just ask her to do it sometimes?' Now, of course, he's my number one fan. Like I said, it's something I always loved to do." When she was 7 years old, Hawkins'; mom took her to see Mahalia Jackson at the Oakland Auditorium Arena. It sealed the deal. Hawkins' love for gospel was almost literally born in her grandfather's church. E. Cleveland Jr. was the bishop of Ephesians Church of God in Christ in Oakland. Her mother sang for the church's choir broadcast and left to give birth to Hawkins. Edwin Hawkins was the church's choir director and he, along with Betty Watson, put together a community choir. "It evolved into something that we were all very proud of to the point we took it to the Youth Congress of the Church of God in Christ," Hawkins recalled. "There was something like a 'Battle of the Choirs.'" The song they performed was 'Oh Happy Day.' The group took second place although they should have taken first place Hawkins said with laughter. The choir stayed together after that because everyone felt they had such a unique sound. And they decided to record 'Oh Happy Day.' "We didn't have a lot of money," Hawkins said. "And my own mom put some of her hard earned money toward the recording and was like one of the early investors in that whole situation. It was really something in how that all came about. No one had a clue. We just knew we had a good sound and people were excited about it. We had close to 75-80 voices." Edwin Hawkins, along with his son Walter whom Tramaine Hawkins later married, directed the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the recording of the song at Ephesians Church of God in Christ. And "Oh Happy Day" was destined to reach the top of the pop charts. Even though the group didn't have a distribution company, God found a way. "No one had a clue or anything," Hawkins recalled. "We just knew we had something good. Certainly when it was played on an underground radio station at that time, one of the DJs -- I don't know his name -- played it and it caught on like wildfire and of course, the rest is history." Hawkins went on to sing with Andrea Crouch and the Disciples down in Los Angeles. She arrived at the right place at the right time. "I was one of the first females to be a part of Andrea Crouch's Disciples," Hawkins said. "When I came on board, they were nominated for and won a Grammy for the song 'Christian People.' I was on that album." Hawkins then returned to Oakland to join her husband Walter. "Walter Hawkins started a ministry and became a minister," Hawkins said. "He started in his mom's basement by having bible study, And from out of that nucleus of people in the bible study, he started the Love Center Church. From out of the Love Center Church, we recorded again at my grandfather's church the first album of the Love Alive series, which was just Love Alive. My career was really born at that time with the songs 'Change' and 'Going Up Yonder,' which were the two hits from that time." People noticed Hawkins on that series of albums and she contemplated a solo career. "I was surprised at the interest," Hawkins observed. "I also really desired it because I knew deep in my heart this is what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to sing. I didn't necessarily know if I could make a living out of it. But I know I love to sing and still love to sing. I just thank God to be successful at something I love." As Hawkins embarked on her solo career -- she would eventually record nine albums -- she wasn't afraid to venture into some untested gospel waters. "I'm not afraid of going into a new and different setting to try something new musically to put different musical genres together as long as they have a gospel and a biblical and inspirational theme," Hawkins said. "I've always sung gospel, but in my earlier CDs and albums, I even dabbled into a little jazz feel. I think the true essence is the experience that I have had all my life in the church, especially in the Black church." Hawkins hit the jackpot in the mid 1980s with the release of "Fall Down," a gospel song with a danceable beat. "'Fall Down' was number one on the pop charts, which was a total surprise to us," Hawkins said. "It was almost like ';Oh Happy Day' happening all over again. I was a trailblazer for that. I took a lot of criticism at the time from the traditional church because that song was kind of like a 'first.' Now you hear songs that have so much cross-over and have gone into a secular field, but they have an inspiration lyric. But mine was one of the first at that time." While one would think that a Grammy award member who is also a member of the Gospel Hall of Fame would have the skids greased every time she was inspired to release a new album, it isn't necessarily so. This past March, Hawkins released "I Never Lost My Praise," a live album recorded at the Reid Temple just outside of Washington, D.C. Her record label and she were not on the same page with it. "I think perhaps my best work is when I sing live," Hawkins emphasized. "I think that is why I was so adamant on this CD being a live recording. I went against my record company who at the time really didn't believe so much in the idea of me doing live. They got kind of caught up in what the cost would be. Pastor Bell, my agent, and my husband, Tommie Richardson Jr., invested their money and time in this CD. We went ahead without any support in the beginning from the record company and went into rehearsal and went ahead and got a date for the live recording. Then as record companies do, they came and showed up. They had to. They were instrumental, of course, in finishing the project. But it was us in the beginning." The lead track of the CD, "I Never Lost My Praise" was written by Kurt Carr who also wrote "You Get the Glory," "Lift Him Up," and "Don't Count Me Out." "For Kurt kind of being a producer for me at this time in my life, I feel that he not only was God sent, but I felt he has also written songs that were really tailor-made for me," Hawkins emphasized. "They really brought out the true essence of who I am. He's a real fan. He's been listening to me. If you talk to him, he'll tell you how long he has been listening to me. He wanted me to go back to my roots, so to speak, and he wrote songs that allowed me to do that. They allowed me to be who I am." In conjunction with the release of her CD, Hawkins has been on a national tour where she has been performing primarily in churches. "I've taken it back to my roots in the church," Hawkins said. "I've invited churches from every denomination to take part in this tour that I've set up. And I've been busy as a bee singing in mega-churches and churches that aren't mega-churches. Some have their own choir and some have their minister be in concert with me. It's just been a real joy. It's so exciting." As in the recording of the CD, Hawkins has not found the music industry lining up to promote "I Never Lost My Praise." And it is her belief that a higher power has been at work in her life that has allowed the CD to receive the level of acclaim it has. "It's in God's hands," Hawkins exclaimed. "He has enabled it to have the kind of success that it has had with the five Stellar nominations and three Grammy nominations. It's a totally, I believe, the Lord's doing. Regardless to the kind of career that I have had and the longevity I have had in this industry, like you say, there are yet no guarantees. That's why I believe and have total trust in the Lord. When you totally rely on God and all other things kind of fall out -- you're not in the stable place where you can depend on this and you can depend on that -- those situations with this project were not in place. I believe it was just the way the Lord wanted it to be." Lady Tramaine Hawkins, indeed, has not strayed far from her musical and spiritual roots. The 4th Annual Fall Gospel Festival is being held Saturday November 24, 7 p.m., at the Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center, 2100 Bristol Street. Advance tickets are $20 and $25 at the door. Tickets are available at the two Family Christian Book Store locations and at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 2019 Fisher Street. Or call Carola Gaines (213-1598), Lucretia Wade (217-5172) or Candace McDowell (239-5015) for ticket information. To hear Lady Tramaine Hawkins sing "I Never Lost My Praise" on your computer, go to Google and enter YouTube and Lady Tramaine Hawkins and press the appropriate link. |
| 4th Annual Fall Gospel Fest Singing from the soul By Jonathan Gramling |
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| Lady Tramaine Hawkins (Right) was a member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers when they recorded "Oh Happy Day." |