Andraé Edward Crouch was born on July 1, 1942, in Compton, Los Angeles, California, along with a twin sister, Sandra, to parents Benjamin, a clergyman, and Catherine Hodnett Crouch, a manager of dry-cleaning business. Benjamin Crouch was his older brother. They grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California.
Crouch, who is dyslexic, began playing the piano for the Church of God in Christ choir in San Fernando Valley when he was 11 years old. He wrote his first Gospel composition when he was 14 years old. Crouch graduated from San Fernando Senior High School in 1960 and founded the Church of God in Christ Singers/COGICS that same year, with the legendary Billy Preston at the piano.
Following his father’s death in 1964, Crouch became the pastor of Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ in Pacoima at the age of 22. The congregation had previously been led by the senior Crouch. Crouch was also a student at Valley Junior College (VJC) in the San Fernando Valley at the time, where he formed the band Andraé Crouch & the Disciples in 1965. The following year, in 1966, he left VJC to attend Life Bible College in Los Angeles.
Crouch rose to prominence as one of the most popular gospel artists in the United States over the next five decades, writing, arranging, and recording over 700 singles and 45 albums. Keep on Singing, his most successful album, was released in 1972.
Crouch got the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Artist in 1980. In addition, he has eight Grammy Awards and has been nominated for twenty. It includes winning “Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary” at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980 for the album Don’t Give Up, and “Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male” at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in 1983 for Crouch’s “Always Remember.”
In addition, during the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1984, his album Mercy won for “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.” Crouch was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 for his music compositions for the film The Color Purple. “Maybe God is Tryin’ to Tell You Something” and “Heaven Belongs to You” were two of them.
Crouch received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1997. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame the following year, in 1998. In 2004, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Crouch and his twin were awarded an honorary “Artist-in-Residence” Fellowship by the International Center of Worship at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 2011.
Crouch’s “Let The Church Say Amen,” featuring Marvin Winans, debuted at number 32 and lasted on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart for 17 weeks in 2012. The record remained at the top of the charts for more than 60 weeks, prompting Billboard to name him “Gospel Songs Artist of the Year.”