He says of his music laden childhood, “In the Hawkins’ house, my father didn’t go to church, so we listened to a gamut of music; country western, quartets; the Staple Singers, we loved the Staple Singers; Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand…so in terms of my writing, my history is incorporated in my style of writing.”  In staying true to his musical past, Walter Hawkins dexterously uses the up tempo excitement of Latin music, the subtleties of jazz scatting, the splendor of classical string, the wisdom of harmonica, the youthful energy of hip hop and the intensity of dance music, bringing A Song In My Heart to a ground-breaking plateau. A Song In My Heart is a journey to the ultimate place: the freedom to worship without boundaries.

“Elegant,” “stunning,” and a “gift from God” are just a few of the words that describe this most sacred debut of Walter Hawkins, solo artist. With the presence of a choral element as a device to add texture to his songs, but for the first time ever, the legendary voice of Walter Hawkins comes into view as the brilliant counter tenor that he is, awing listeners with the dynamics of his phenomenal, nearly operatic, vocal range and his passionate reverence for the Lord, God.

After 30 years of being recognized by his peers with nominations/wins from the Grammy, Dove, GMWA and Stellar awards, he has also worked with a broad range of artists R&B (Jeffrey Osborne), Rock (Van Morrison), Jazz (Lee Oskar) and Dance Music (The late Sylvester) artists. In addition, Hawkins has worked with all of the Gospel greats, including Shirley Miller and Tramaine and Edwin Hawkins. Hawkins name has become synonymous with the consummate behind-the-scenes producer, choir director and consistent featured vocalist.

In 2004, Walter Hawkins has finally heeded the cries of his critics and global fan base to come out from behind the shadows. He says laughing, “In the past, I have been the person who orchestrated and wrote for everybody else: my choir, my family, pretty much my personal performances were just the leftover songs.”

On this electrifying debut, A Song In My Heart, Minister Hawkins in the spirit of his Love Center Ministry, is finally reaching beyond the confines of tradition. He says, “If I am trying to reach outside the four walls of my church and I want someone to listen to it, it needs to have some appeal to whatever heart it is trying to reach. Being contemporary is not a compromise. God’s policy was that `God so loved the world…’ and, the church is not a private social club. The message needs to be stated in a way that speaks to any person. We want to have an outreach.”

And reaching hearts and souls, is exactly what A Song In My Heart does.  From the rousing Latin-tinged feel of the title track to the introspective “Ever Loving Father” (Pastor Hawkins’ personal favorite) to the soulful radio-ready “We Sing Praises,” “Faithfully” and “Wanna Say Thank You”, the album is filled with an abundance of strong messages for mankind. Says Bishop Hawkins, “What I do when I write is I don’t know if people are going to like it - I don’t think in terms of ‘let’s make it more palatable’ That is how God gave it to me, so I think, let’s leave it alone.”