Many words can describe Andrae Crouch. Musician. Composer. Pastor. Artist. Revolutionary. Visionary. Innovator. Trailblazer. And many more.
Andrae influenced an entire genre of music and has written some of the most iconic songs in all Christian music—whether gospel or contemporary. Songs such as “Through It All,” “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power,” “Jesus Is The Answer,” “Bless His Holy Name,” and “Soon and Very Soon.” These songs have inspired and blessed generations of people.
Even if you don’t know who Andrae Crouch is, you may have sung one of his songs in your church.
Let’s consider how his contributions helped shape the Christian music industry.
How It All Began for Andrae Crouch
In his younger years, Andrae struggled with shyness and stuttering; music helped him overcome this. His parents owned two dry-cleaning stores, and his father was an interim preacher.
His father wrestled with whether or not to become a full-time pastor, and he prayed to God, asking for a sign: “If you bless my son with a musical gift, I will give up the stores and go into the ministry full time.”
When Andrae was eleven years old, he sat at the piano and played at the church where his father was preaching. As the saying goes, the rest is history. His father gave up the business and went into full-time ministry. This was the beginning of Andrae’s musical journey. Three years later, Andrae began writing songs.
Important Events in Andrae Crouch’s Life
Andrae Crouch’s life is an encyclopedia of musical accomplishments. Over the course of his career, he wrote, arranged, compiled, or recorded over 700 singles and over 45 albums. He also won 16 Grammys.
To flush out the resume further, here are a few important events in Andrae Crouch’s life.
July 1, 1942: Andrae Edward Crouch was born along with his twin sister Sandra to Benjamin and Catherine Crouch
1956: Andrae wrote his first gospel song.
1960: Andrae created the Church of God in Christ Singers. The first song they recorded was “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.”
1965: Crouch formed the group Andrae Crouch and the Disciples.
1971: Andrae Crouch and the Disciples signed with Light Records and recorded their first album, Take The Message Everywhere.
1975: Received his first Grammy Award for Take Me Back.
1985: Received Oscar Nominations for musical compositions in the movie The Color Purple.
1997: Received an honorary Doctor of Music from Berklee College.
1998: Inducted into the Gospel Music Association Gospel Hall of Fame.
2004: Awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
January 8, 2015: Andrae Edward Crouch died from heart failure complications.
What Was Andrae Crouch’s Role in Christian Music?
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, the Jesus Movement was in full effect. As shown in documentaries like The Jesus Music and the movie Jesus Revolution, This revival challenged young people to center their lives around the teachings of Jesus. People previously involved in the hippie counterculture, like Lonnie Frisbee, began attending church, and new ministries were born.
As young people came to know Jesus, they brought their musical interests into churches, and an entire genre of music was born: Contemporary Christian Music.
While the music began with a more acoustic, folk music feel by artists like Randy Stonehill. Andrae incorporated his gospel influences to create a contemporary praise and worship music style.
The uniqueness of Andrae Crouch is even though he came out of the black church, his music was not just limited to a black audience. His music crossed over and ministered to the body of Christ universally.
There were two main reasons he could do this with a great measure of success.
1. Influences: Andrae was very familiar with diverse and multicultural environments. His parents’ background included biracial marriages that brought Jews, Germans, and other European ethnicities into their family heritage. No wonder he could write music that appealed to various audiences.
2. Wisdom: In writing praise and worship music Andrae decided to ensure clarity to his music. Regardless of the arrangements surrounding the music, the lyrics needed to be clear and make sense. His thinking behind this was quite simple. The easier the message is to understand in the music, the more you can engage your heart in praise and worship. This should be the end goal for all worship music.
What Was Andrae Crouch’s Role in Gospel Music?
What made Andrae a pioneer in Gospel Music was his ability to blend different styles of music while still creating music with the gospel at the center. However, even though he did this successfully, it was not without critics. Many felt blending in secular elements watered down the gospel message. This criticism was not unusual—many other artists experienced the same thing in this period. For example, ministers and parents harshly judged Larry Norman, the father of Christian rock, for using “the devil’s music.”
It is not uncommon for people who seek to do things outside of the norms to get criticized. However, as the person who breaks down the norms proves to be faithful, those criticisms often become cheers. You would be hard-pressed to find critics of Andre’s style of music today.
Granted, secular styling has influenced much of Christian music today. This should not be surprising or necessarily negative. Music is a universal language, and one form or style of music has always influenced others. However, if we take a page from Andrae’s book, he never allowed the style to take away from the substance. Artists today should be sure to do the same.
What Can We Learn from Andrae Crouch Today?
As I was reflecting on Andrae Crouch’s life and researching to write this article, one thing stood out to me: a necessary lesson for Christians today. Andrae wrote music that made sense to the listener. This speaks of one thing: clarity.
It does not matter if you are a recording artist, writer, teacher, preacher, or regular person who communicates with others (this should include everybody—yes, you too). We must learn to communicate in ways that other people will understand. This is especially true when sharing the gospel or teaching about the things of the Lord. What good is it to deliver messages people can’t comprehend? In the praise and worship arena, Andrae recognized this truth and reflected it in how he wrote his music.
When you look at it, this is how Jesus preached to people; he spoke to them using illustrations (sowing seeds, herding sheep) that connected with his audience. He was not interested in clever tricks or showing off his theological prowess. He wanted to communicate with people so they would know what he was talking about.
When I think about Andrae Crouch’s music, that theme is present in his songs. Take for example, his classic song “My Tribute.” I encourage you to listen to it; when you do, the message will instantly hit you. If you never heard the song, here is a spoiler alert. This song will cause you to pause and consider everything God has done for you. After considering that, the only response is to God be the glory.
This was the genius of Andrae Crouch—why his music was a blessing then and remains so until this day. As great as the music sounds, it doesn’t mean much if the message does not back it up.
Andre Crouch and CeCe Winans Perform a Medley of: Through it All, Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus, and Soon and Very Soon from andrae-crouch on GodTube.
10 Best Albums by Andrae Crouch
3. Live At Carnegie Hall (1973)
9. Mercy (1994)
You can see videos of Andrae Crouch and his collaborators performing his music on GodTube.com.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives/Stringer
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