Andraé Crouch Biography

Fast Facts

• Was awarded the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' Salute to Gospel Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005
• Often referred to as the "father of modern gospel" for his early inclusion of popular music styles in the genre in the '70s and '80s
• Was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007
• Began composing songs at the age of 14 and formed his first musical group, COGICS, while in high school
• Began performing with the group Andraé Crouch and the Disciples in the mid-1960s, with the release of their first album, "Take the Message Everywhere," coming in 1971
• Quote: "[on overcoming shyness and stammering through music] "I started singing what I had to say․ People became music to me because everything they said was a song․""
• Quote: "[on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame] "Anybody who passes that [will] say, 'Who's Andraé Crouch?' They say, 'Well, he sang about Jesus Christ․' That's the part that I'm grateful about․""
• Best known as a gospel singer, songwriter and record producer who has worked on "The Color Purple," "Amen" and "The Lion King․"
• Served as the pastor of the New Christ Memorial Church in San Fernando, Calif․, with his twin sister, Sandra
• Has twice appeared on "Saturday Night Live," first with the Disciples in 1980 and later as a solo performer