Daryl Coley was an American gospel singer, a pastor and former member of the group “Helen Stephens and the Voices of Christ.” This famous artist was known for sings life “Jesus Saves” and “Beyond the Veil“. Coley grew up in Berkley California in a Christian household and there he learned the art of playing instruments like clarinet and piano.
There are not many gospel musicians that can boast about having a large group of the audience which was often beyond the limiting niche of gospel music like Daryl Coley. Having begun his journey to music as a child, Daryl had already joined the musical group at an age of 14. Let us now get to know more about this legendary musician.
Caption: Gospel singer Daryl Coley.
Source: billboard.com
Daryl Coley: Early Life and Education
Daryl Coley was born on the 30th of October, 1955 in Berkeley, California. He did not have the easiest of starts to the life as his parents split up when he was only 5-years-old. According to reports, he was able to learn a lot a lot about gospel music from his mother who seemed to have influenced him. It was due to her push that Daryl learned to play instruments like the piano and clarinet.
Caption: A younger Daryl on his album cover.
Source: amazon.com
When Coley was 13, Edwin Hawkins contemporary arrangement of “Oh Happy Day” caught his attention. This encouraged him to join the group “Helen Stephens and the Voices of Christ” after first hearing them perform in the December of 1969. Whilst at school, Coley was studying under Phillip Reader at Castle Mont High School. He was heavily influenced by Reader and then his career began when he started playing the organ for the Eddie Hawkins Singers.
Daryl Coley: Career
Daryl was then assigned the role of a music director and this helped names like Tremaine Hawkins to start a solo career. Next, Coley shifted toward mainstream music and was singing at Jazz clubs. He was collaborating with many famous names like Phillip Bailey, Rodney Franklin, and Nancy Wilson. He then released his debut solo album “Just Daryl” in 1986. The album was a massive success and even earned Coley nominations for a Grammy.
Daryl then went on to release more albums after the success. His song “He’s right on time” climbed up to the third position on the Gospel charts. His next album “When the Music Stops” was able to get the top spot in the same category.
Daryl Coley: Personal Life and Family
Coley was enjoying a sweet little life but things suddenly took turn for the worse. He was falling sick and was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. This later resulted in temporary blindness and Coley spent the rest of his life battling with the disease.
Caption: A message from Coley’s family.
Source: readychurch.wordpress.com
As mentioned above, Daryl grew up in a household with a strong inclination towards Christianity. A lot about him is the image of his mother who influenced him into music and Coley retained that character about him till the later stages of his life. He was later married to Jenelle Coley and has three children with her. He also went on to adopt Antonio Brooks which goes on to show the beautiful side of this musician.
Daryl Coley: Death
Daryl struggled with juvenile diabetes for a long time and this caused him temporary blindness. During the last days of his life, he could not even able to control his body and the vision was almost gone.
Coley passed away on the 15th of March, 2016 on a Tuesday night. In the end, it was the failure of his kidneys that took his life. Coley closed his eyes in the presence of his loved ones who tried their very best to keep Coley comfortable. Coley has been gone for just over 2 years now and despite his physical sense no longer being among us, he and his music will remain among us eternally.
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