Heavenly Vocals: Brian Eno’s favourite moment in music history
The music taste of Brian Eno is so eclectic that he even tried to turn a U2 album into an Ethiopian-inspired epic. He brought Afrobeat to Talking Heads, drove Roxy Music forward with electro-futurism, and he’s even made music for airports. When most people say, ‘I like a bit of everything’ it means that they’re not really into anything, but for Eno, it rings true.
In fact, the extent of his eclecticism even surprises him when it comes to his favourite moment in music. But rights he shouldn’t like it, but he simply can’t help but be enthused by its religious rapture. “As a sort of atheist for most of my life, except the first part when I was a Catholic, it’s funny that I like gospel music so much, but it has always moved me quite deeply,” he explained to Cambridge Audio while celebrating World Environment Day.
Continuing: “One of the pieces I remember having a huge effect on me was sung by Dorothy Love Coates, and the song is called ‘Lord, Don’t Forget About Me’, which is a fiery song, she’s a very fiery singer. But there’s one part in it where her voice goes up into a scream, and then she sort of falls down as though she can’t fight it, she collapses down back into the song. And the line before it is: ‘Nowhere is there a place for me’. It’s so, so powerful.”
Indeed, there is a wallop of emotion in that belting moment that seems to encapsulate the life and hardship of Coates before it. In this way, gospel music doesn’t have to be about god. You can also interpret it as being a genre in praise of the triumphant power of music. In its own way, the unbridled passion showcases the communal rhapsody of coming together to get, well, ‘out of you head’, like so much other music, except this time it is in a spiritual setting.
Who is Dorothy Love Coates?
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1928, Coates was a singer, songwriter and composer. Her father then left the family when she was six, and the family were thrown into financial hardship. So, alongside performing in a Baptist Church at the age of ten, she worked menial jobs to help out. Then it appeared that her life was headed towards her own family life after she married for the first time in 1944, but this soon resulted in divorce.
However, rather than succumb to any despair, Coates simply redoubled her musical efforts. In doing so, her style became even more fierce; if the lord was her salvation, then people would know it without a doubt. In many ways, her booming, raspy tones were akin to rock ‘n’ roll. Thus, when she found success, the likes of Little Richard and Mavis Staples copied her style, citing her as a direct inspiration. However, Coates could never be coaxed by them to try anything secular, so she remained the most “ragged” beloved in the gospel world.
Listen to Dororthy Love Coates below.
