Tribute to the late Bishop Walter L. Hawkins: Legendary Gospel Music Singer, Writer, and Recording Artist

Bishop Walter L. Hawkins, a native of Oakland, California and pastor of the Love Center Church, died Sunday, July 11, at his home in Ripon, California.  He was 61.  Walter Hawkins was a singer, songwriter/composer, and gospel recording artist extraordinaire. Tramaine Hawkins, his former wife and the lead singer of some of Walter Hawkins' greatest Gospel hits, such as Changed and Going Up Yonder, once referred to him as her "Burt Bacharach".

As many of you who were choir members in the 70's and 80's,  I can remember growing up in Oakland and singing, directing and playing many of the hits off of the Love Alive albums that featured songs written and produced by Walter Hawkins.  Songs such as, Jesus Christ Is The Way, Be Grateful, Never Alone, He Brought Me, Dear Jesus I Love You, I Won't Be Satisfied, I'm Not The Same, Right On and He's That Kind of Friend.  Did I mention one of your favorite choir songs yet?  Well, how about these:  When The Battle Is Over, God Is Standing By, and Until I Found The Lord.  You see, these are the "ole skool, back in the day" church songs.  You have to have a little church longevity to know some of these songs.  They came way before the 90's hits like Marvelous, Thank You Lord, and The Potter's Wants To Put You Back Together Again (Potter's House written for Traimaine Hawkins).

Walter and his brother Edwin Hawkins wrote, produced and performed great, perfected music and tremendously influenced the style of gospel music.  In our youth choir, one of our first arranged songs was the familiar Andrae Crouch song, Soon and Very Soon.  But the song was not complete until we put a Hawkins' style vamp on the end of the song.  Now that set it off in church everytime we sung it.

Growing up in Oakland, you might think that I saw the Hawkins family a lot, but that was not the case.  I heard their songs on the radio like everybody else.  Although I regularly visited Ephesians Church of God In Christ (COGIC) pastored by the late Bishop E.E. Cleveland, Sr. (the church where the Hawkins got their start), saw Bishop Ernestine Cleveland Reems (Traimaine Hawkins's aunt) in church services and hung out with Lawerence Matthews (a cousin and also a recording artist), I did not get to see the Hawkins live in a concert until I was 16 years old .  In 1981, they performed in a historic concert with the Clark Sisters, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Shirley Caesar and James Cleveland at the Paramount Theater in Oakland California.  The concert was off-the-hook and all I can say is get the DVD! [ Side note:  After that concert the Clark Sisters came to Ephesians COGIC for a Midnight Musical and we had "chuch".  But that's another story, for another time...]

All that being said, Walter and Edwin Hawkins and the Love Center Choir, created and refined what we now recognize as contemporary choir music.  They are the pioneers that paved the way for artists like Hezekiah Walker, Donald Lawerance, Donnie McClurkin, Ricky Dillard, and John P. Key, etc.  By the way, the young  musician in our youth choir who played our Hawkins' style Soon and Very Soon, ended up playing the organ on a few of the Love Alive Albums and produced a few songs on Walter Hawkins' latest solo effort, Song In My Heart (2006). Carl L. Wheeler, Jr. is his name and you might also remember his name from the group Tony, Toni, Tone!

Although Walter Hawkins' physical presence will be greatly missed, his contributions to the idiom of Gospel Music will remain timeless.  My prayers and condolences to the Hawkins Family and Love Center Church.

Bishop Hawkins  is survived by his children, Trystan Hawkins and Walter “Jamie” Hawkins Jr.; a daughter-in-law, Myiia “Sunny” Hawkins; two grandchildren, Jamie-Daniel and Jahve; and his siblings Carol, Feddie, Edwin, Daniel, and Lynette Hawkins.

For more information, please visit Love Center Ministries.