Dorothy Combs Morrison (born Dorothy Marie Combs, May 8, 1944) is an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

singer. She sang lead vocal on the song " Oh Happy Day" recorded in 1967 by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

Biography

She was born in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in, and county seat of, Gregg County, Texas, United States. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway system, U.S. highways U.S. Route 80, 80 and U.S. Route 259, 259 converge just north of the Sabi ...

, and grew up in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

. The seventh child of ten, Dorothy showed early signs of her talents. She began singing at the age of 13 and released her first single "I Am Free", while singing with her siblings as 'The Combs Family'. Dorothy's continued exposure while appearing with her family at church events led to her talents being noticed by others in the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and Oakland Bay Area. In the 1960s, she then joined the Edwin Hawkins Singers and was the lead vocalist on the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning Hall of Fame hymn, " Oh Happy Day". She toured with Edwin Hawkins,

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

, Boz Scaggs, and Delaney and Bonnie, among others. She appeared on TV shows including ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harv ...

'' and ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. Morrison's appearance at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival is seen in the film '' Celebration at Big Sur''; with the Combs Sisters, she sang "All God's Children Got Soul", which reached #95 on the Billboard Top 100 in October, 1969. In Canada, her version of " Spirit in the Sky" reached #47 on the RPM Magazine top 100 singles, as well as #99 on Billboard's Hot 100 in October, 1970. At home in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

area, she performed for the Mayor of Oakland

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

; in the City Town Square, and in 2002 she was awarded the key to the city of Oakland. She sang on the Huey Lewis and the News cover of " Respect Yourself", released on their 2010 album '' Soulsville''. Morrison continues as one of the four Blues Broads, with leader Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson, and Tracy Nelson, as of 2019. The Blues Broads are based in Marin County, where Angela Strehli lives and works. Their live November 4, 2011, performance from the Throckmorton Theatre was released as a CD + DVD recording by

Delta Groove Productions Delta Groove Productions is an American blues record label in Van Nuys, California, United States. The label was founded by Randy Chortkoff ( Rand Jay Chortkoff; 1949–2015), a producer, concert promoter, and harmonica player. Chortkoff's biog ...

in 2012. Morrison has toured all over the world with the group.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Dorothy Combs American gospel singers People from Longview, Texas Living people 1944 births Singers from Texas Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Singers from California