David Coate
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Veteran Christian artist, songwriter, and producer David Coate has released his new single 'This Is Love' to Christian radio. Blending elements of Inspirational, Christian Soft AC, Christian Country, and Southern Gospel, the song delivers a heartfelt reminder of the ultimate love demonstrated through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Written and produced by Coate, “This Is Love” draws its inspiration from John 15:13, where Jesus declares, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” The song reflects on that powerful truth with simple yet profound...
Read More Veteran Christian artist, songwriter, and producer David Coate has released his new single 'This Is Love' to Christian radio. Blending elements of Inspirational, Christian Soft AC, Christian Country, and Southern Gospel, the song delivers a heartfelt reminder of the ultimate love demonstrated through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Written and produced by Coate, “This Is Love” draws its inspiration from John 15:13, where Jesus declares, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” The song reflects on that powerful truth with simple yet profound lyrics that celebrate the selfless love that changed the world. In the chorus, Coate echoes the heart of the scripture, singing, “This is love, this is love that a man lay down his life,” while the message builds toward the hopeful declaration that “with this love we’ll move mountains, with this love we’ll change the world.” The song ultimately points listeners to the unmatched power found in Christ’s sacrificial love.
Coate’s journey to writing songs like “This Is Love” is one marked by transformation. Before becoming a follower of Christ at age seventeen, music already played a central role in his life. As a young musician he performed in garage bands and idolized legendary rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Black Sabbath. At the same time, however, he was experimenting with many of the destructive influences common to that lifestyle. “As a young teen I experimented with about everything you would not want your kid to be involved with,” Coate recalls. Over time, he became increasingly impressed by the faith and character of Christian students in his high school, and eventually grew weary of his own direction in life. That realization led him to surrender his life to Christ.
His newfound faith brought a dramatic shift in priorities. Influenced by a popular teaching at the time that rock music itself was inherently wrong, Coate gave away his record collection and even locked away his newly purchased white Fender Stratocaster guitar. During that season he immersed himself in church life and Bible studies, allowing his faith to deepen. Looking back, Coate says that although the teaching itself may have been misguided, the time proved spiritually valuable. “I was no longer obsessed with music, and it came under the Lordship of Christ in my life,” he explains.
About a year later, a single concert changed everything. Invited by a friend to attend a free performance by acclaimed Christian guitarist Phil Keaggy, Coate was astonished not only by Keaggy’s extraordinary musicianship but also by his humility and devotion to Christ. That night Coate prayed and asked God if he could use his musical gifts in service to Him. When he returned home, he pulled the Stratocaster out for the first time in a year. From that moment forward, Christian music became his calling.
Since then, Coate has spent decades sharing that calling through music. As the leader of the David Coate Group (DCG), he has toured nationwide, performing everywhere from prisons and churches to universities and major festivals such as Creation Festival and Soul Festival. One notable evangelistic event placed the group in the heart of Times Square in New York City, where they performed for thousands. Along the way he has shared stages with well-known Christian artists including Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, Mylon LeFevre, and Brian Duncan.
Beyond performing, Coate is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer. Proficient on acoustic, electric, and nylon string guitars as well as keyboard and bass, he has recorded thirteen albums of his own and operates the commercial recording facility Turning Point Studio. Through this studio he has produced and arranged projects for numerous artists while collaborating with major labels including Warner Bros., EMI, BMG Entertainment, and Polygram. The studio has also hosted notable projects such as voiceover recording for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” featuring Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg.
Through it all, Coate says the purpose of his music has remained clear. “Music is still a huge part of my life,” he says. “The difference now is that I do it for Christ.”
With “This Is Love,” that mission shines clearly. The song’s message centers on the life-changing love described in Scripture, reminding listeners that the greatest power in the world is not fame, success, or influence, but the sacrificial love demonstrated by Jesus. As the song declares again and again, “This is love… that a man lay down his life,” a truth that continues to inspire faith, service, and hope.
