“I thought it would be good to bring her to Stockton, to have a singer who represents the black community,” Olson said. Ken Olson, who’d seen Knauls at a church in Redwood City, arranged for her to appear at Quail Lakes. She’s traveled the world, sings with the Gaither Vocal Band on television, but is making her debut in Stockton on Sunday. That was 40 years ago and Knauls, who celebrated her 80th birthday in April with a luau, hasn’t stopped. I got so many offers that God was telling me he had another assignment for me.” It was predominately a Caucasian church and (the pastor would) say, ‘Here’s Miss Lillie, my soul sister.’ People kept asking me to sing. “I was part of a church across town that wanted me as soloist for a weekly television program,” Knauls said. If you do what God wants you to do, he’ll take care of you.”Īnd how did she know he was calling her to sing? I stepped out in faith and to this day God never failed to meet the needs of my life. “I was telling my mom, who was a bit apprehensive, because I was living with her and she was on a fixed income. “I knew God was calling me from the company,” Knauls said. Knauls continued working at the phone company and planned on staying for 30 years before enjoying retirement, but in 1978, after 22 years, she took a leap of faith and devoted herself to singing full time. “We sang our gospel and we’d have to sing that song in every concert.” “We were with all the stars of that day: Diana Ross, Tom Jones, (Engelbert) Humperdinck, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Zeppelin,” Knauls said. The group recorded an album with the hope of raising money to send the church’s youth choir to a competition, and the album made its way into the hands of KSAN disc jockey Abe Kesh and it became a hit. Hawkins came in one night with “Oh, Happy Day.” Hawkins was organizing an elite choir and she’d drive to Oakland every Monday to sing. Knauls was a member of Church of God in Christ in San Jose, where she lived and worked for the telephone company. Hawkins, who passed away in January, created the soulful rendition of the hymn that not only won the 1970 Grammy Award for best soul gospel performance, but was the first popular gospel song to enjoy mainstream success and play time. “I don’t (get tired of it),” Knauls said. The concert is free and open to the public Knauls will sing “Oh, Happy Day” during the three Sunday services at Quail Lakes Baptist Church, and then again when she gives a solo concert at the church beginning at 6:30 p.m. It was 50 years in June since we recorded it.” “He took it to KSAN radio and said, ‘play this.’ The rest is history. “Then a hippie in a warehouse was throwing away records and he saw it, put in on the turntable and the first song was “Oh, Happy Day,” explained Lillie Knauls, who was part of the choir. Hawkins, leading a choir for the Church of God in Christ, saw, it, created the arrangement and recorded it with a choir in 1968. It was written in the 18th century and could be found in any hymn book. Only that song, by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, wasn’t written by Andrew Lloyd Webber or any other contemporary composer. The sacrament of the Lord’s supper was then administered.Before Top-40 radio stations played “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Superstar” from 1970s “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and “Day By Day” from Godspell, which premiered a year later, the radio waves blared the hip “Oh, Happy Day.” Chiang stood by the side of General Chiang, and he…followed the service and answered quietly, but very clearly, each question as it was asked by the minister. The services were held in the large reception room…All sang together ‘Happy Day.’ Then the ritual ceremony of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for baptism and reception into the church was read by Dr. Kaung, pastor of the Allen Memorial Church, Shanghai, was in charge of the ceremony. M., members of the immediate family and a few specially invited friends, Chinese and foreign, joined in this service at the home of Mrs. This was the report given in some American periodicals at the time: Hawk, a missionary of the Methodist Church (at that time the Methodist Episcopal Church, South). The historic scene at Shanghai, China, when the head of the Chinese Republic, General Chiang Kai Shek, received the rite of Christian baptism, has been preserved for us by the Rev.
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