Oh Happy Day — A Joyful Song Worth Sharing

Some songs just make me happy.

This one definitely does.

I heard “Oh Happy Day” again recently and immediately thought, yep…this belongs somewhere in the Scatter Joyfulness world. It’s lively, joyful, full of faith, and almost impossible for me to hear without smiling or moving at least a bit. I might even make it my ringtone.

A Happy Bit of History

Because I’m pretty particular about what takes up residency on this site, I went wandering to learn more about “Oh Happy Day.”

Wellllll…of course it has a history.

And a really good one.

The song we know through The Edwin Hawkins Singers reaches back through an older Christian hymn tradition. Hymnary traces “O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice” to Philip Doddridge in the 1700s, with the familiar refrain appearing later in the 1800s.

I especially liked being able to hear a short audio sample of the earlier hymn on Hymnary. It’s such a different sound from the Edwin Hawkins version, and hearing them side by side makes the musical journey even more interesting.

You can also visit Hymnary to hear the earlier hymn tradition and explore its history

Then came Edwin Hawkins and a completely different musical life for the song.

His late-1960s gospel arrangement grew from a choir recording in Oakland and went on to become an international hit. The recording was later added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

Rather than try to retell every part of that story here, I’d rather point you to the people who documented it so well.

Read the Library of Congress story behind “Oh Happy Day”

And if you want to hear the version that made me stop, smile, and immediately think this belongs somewhere in the Scatter Joyfulness world:

Listen to “Oh Happy Day” by The Edwin Hawkins Singers on YouTube

How fun is that?

An older hymn. A completely different arrangement generations later. And a song that traveled far beyond where it began.

Yep. That’s right up my alley.