Andraé Crouch

Born in San Francisco, Crouch was encouraged to take up singing by his preacher father upon discovering that it helped to overcome his childhood stutter, and after becoming a regular performer at his local church, he began writing his own songs aged 14. In 1960, Crouch formed The Church of God in Christ Singers, a group also featuring virtuoso keyboardist Billy Preston, with whom he first recorded one of his signature songs, "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power." While studying to be a teacher in 1965, Crouch founded his second and most successful gospel outfit, The Disciples, who became a regular fixture on the Southern California Christian music circuit, and after landing a deal with Light Records, released their debut album, Take The Message Everywhere, in 1968. Later adding Crouch's twin sister Sandra to their line-up, the group issued a further six records over the following decade, including the Grammy-winning Take Me Back and Live in London, and remained a hugely popular live draw until their split in 1979. Crouch's reputation as a songwriter had also soared during this period when both Paul Simon and Elvis Presley helped introduce his work to a pop audience with covers of "Jesus is the Answer" and "I've Got Confidence" respectively. But Crouch was still keen to take center stage and having briefly ventured out on his own for 1973's Just Andrae, he resumed his solo career six years later with I'll Be Thinking Of You. Crouch went onto call upon the talents of Stevie Wonder, El Debarge and Tata Vega for a string of early 80s releases (Don't Give Up, Finally, No Time To Lose) which showcased his talents for incorporating pop, soul, jazz and R&B influences into the gospel music of his roots. However, after picking up a Best Original Score nomination for his soundtrack work on "The Color Purple" (1985), Crouch shifted his focus away from the spotlight and into the studio.In 1987, Crouch and his choir were hired to performing backing vocals on Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror," the start of a long-standing connection with the King of Pop which also included appearances on Dangerous ("Keep The Faith," "Will You Be There"), HIStory ("Earth Song") and at his funeral service. Crouch added another pop superstar to his resume in 1989 when he sang in and directed the gospel choir which appeared on Madonna's number one, "Like A Prayer," and spent the next five years lending his considerable talents to records by artists as diverse as Nancy Wilson, Diana Ross and Rick Astley. After contributing to the soundtracks of animations "Once Upon A Forest" (1993) and "The Lion King" (1994), Crouch returned to the solo fray for 1994's Mercy, and alongside sister Sandra, took over the senior pastor role that his recently deceased parents had founded.Following two further solo efforts, 1997's Pray and 1998's Gift of Christmas, Crouch was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame, worked on the original Broadway cast album for "It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues," and celebrated his 40th anniversary in the music industry by recruiting the likes of Marvin Winans, Fred Hammond and Crystal Lewis for 2006's Mighty Wind. Featuring duets with Chaka Khan and Sheila E., his final studio effort, The Journey, arrived in 2011, and was followed two years later by the recording of a PBS special, Live In Los Angeles. After suffering a series of health problems, Crouch died from a heart attack at Los Angeles' Northridge Hospital Medical Center on January 8, 2015, aged 72.