Gospel Songs By Lee Hawkins Vol. 1| Posted July 23, 2021
What It Sounds Like:
'Gospel Songs Vol. 1 By Lee Hawkins' is a compilation album produced, arranged and composed by Hawkins, a songwriter/singer who is also known as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. The songs, which feature several young, rising singers from as far away as Ireland and Jamaica, feature a variety of genres and styles, from Gospel House and songs featuring Gospel Choirs, to Worship & Praise, Contemporary Christian and unplugged piano-only versions of Hawkins’ songs.
While the album consists mostly of Gospel-sounding songs, it highlights Hawkins’ versatility as a songwriter, demonstrating that even more than singers, songwriters and producers who possess the ability to create across genres can exercise that option more freely.
Spiritual/Lyrical Highlights:
One of the songs with deeply spiritual lyrics is “The Kingdom’s Come,” featuring Ryan Whyte Maloney from Season 6 of the hit television show, The Voice. The song, dedicated to Hawkins’ grandfather and father, is about a man in hospice coming to terms with his immortality. The song “We’ve Come to Praise Him (Gospel House Remix)” is a remix of Lee Hawkins’ “We’ve Come to Praise Him (Service Starter) on the album.
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Best Song On The Record:
The best most emotionally moving song is “The Kingdom Come.” People should listen to it, either version, because it offers us all a reminder that for Christians, an earthly death only means that life has begun. It is a powerful and comforting song for anyone who is going through grief and wants to find a way to put their loved ones’ death into clearer perspective.
For Fans Of:
Andrae Crouch, Walter Hawkins, Kirk Franklin.
Final Word:
Hawkins has always been inspired by gospel music that can meet people where they are. Whether people are at home hanging out with their family on a Friday night or partying with their friends in a club, Hawkins want to be able to reach everybody. Growing up, the elders in the church often balked at people dancing to gospel music, especially to songs with a secular feel. But this is Hawkins protest to that notion. He grew up on Kirk Franklin and listening to a lot of House Music and hip-hop, and so Hawkins never really conformed or followed those traditional expectations and limitations. That’s probably why Hawkins was attracted to playing the drums in church services, because he always loved to catch those Deacons and Deaconesses and Sunday School teachers who told him to keep it traditional bobbing their heads and moving side to side to his beats. Hawkins always wanted to find a way to get people out of their seats.
to add lyrics if not listed.
