By the age of 10, Dorothy Love Coates had begun playing piano at Evergreen Baptist Church in Birmingham. She quickly developed her talent and was featured on radio shows in the city. She joined the Harmonettes and they soon became national gospel stars after they began recording for Specialty Records in 1951. She was not only a singer, but a great songwriter.

Holland-Dozier-Holland based the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” on Coates’ “(You Can’t Hurry God) He’s Right on Time”; Wilson Pickett used the Gospel Harmonettes’ version of the classic theme “99 and a Half Won’t Do” as the model for his soul hit; Little Richard, among others, copied Coates’ stentorian vocal leads. Many of her compositions were stolen by artists and record labels, which she never received credit or royalties for.

The Harmonettes performed at Carnegie Hall in 1953 and later at the Apollo Theatre, and Madison Square Garden. Coates stopped recording in 1980, but appeared in two films, in ‘’The Long Walk Home’’ (1990) and in ‘’Beloved’’ (1998).

#BlackHistoryMonth

🔊Watch more #throwbacks like this on MyBirminghamGOSPEL.com.

#gospel #gospelchoir #gmwa #gospelmusic #blackmusic #dorothylovecoates #gospelclassic #gospelgolden #blackwomen #birminghamalabama #birminghamal #alabama #alabamamusic