Gospel Music Legend, Andraé Crouch Passes On

Legendary gospel singer, composer and producer Andrae Crouch has passed on at age 72.

On Thursday, 8th January, 2015, His publicists announced the news of his demise.

He had been hospitalized at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center in the Los Angeles area since the 3rd of January, following a heart attack. Crouch had health issues in recent years, including diabetes and cancer. Last month, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and congestive heart failure and had to cancel a tour.

The seven-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1998. His songs were recorded by Elvis Presley and Paul Simon, he collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Elton John, Quincy Jones and Diana Ross, and he was a backup singer on several Michael Jackson songs. Crouch was one of only a handful of gospel performers to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Some of Crouch’s most beloved songs were “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” and “Soon and Very Soon,”. He also arranged music for the 1985 film “The Color Purple” — which earned him an Academy Award nomination and Disney’s “The Lion King” in 1994.

Crouch and his twin sister, Sandra Crouch, also a singer, lived in the Pacoima area of Los Angeles. They were pastors at the New Christ Memorial Church in the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando. Crouch followed his father, who founded the church in 1951, and brother, who died in April 1996, to become the pastor at the church.

“I memorized everything through sight, the shape of the word, Some things that I write, you’ll see a page with cartoon pictures or a drawing of a car — like a Ford — or a flag. I still do it on an occasion when a word is strange to me.

So when I finish a song, I thank God for bringing me through. You have to press on and know your calling. That’s what I’ve been doing for all my life. I just went forward.”

[Culled from an interview with Association Press]