Born July 1, 1942
in
San
Francisco,
California,
Crouch founded the
Disciples in 1968 with Sherman Andrus,
Perry Morgan, Reuben Fernandez and Bili
Thedford. The group became a frequent
attraction at "Monday Night Sing"
concerts in southern California put on
by promoter Audrey Meier.
Meier introduced Crouch to Tim
Spencer of Manna Music Publishing who
would be the first to publish one of his
songs, "The Blood Will Never Lose Its
Power." Written by Andrae at
age 15 he tossed it in the trash because
he thought it poor but the music was salvaged by
his sister, Sandra. In turn, Spencer helped launch
their recording career by introducing
the group to
Light Records
founder
Ralph Carmichael.
Sherman Andrus and Reuben Fernandez were
replaced by Andrae's twin sister Sandra
in 1970. In 1972 singer Danniebelle
Hall, trumpeter, Fletch Wiley and
drummer Bill Maxwell joined the
Disciples.
At the urging of
Carmichael, Crouch began to record his
compositions in 1969 with the groups
debut,
Take the Message
Everywhere,
released in 1970. In 1972, the
Disciples appeared on network
television's
The
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The
Disciples stormed another
citadel of secular culture
with an appearance on the
NBC television Saturday
Night Live comedy show
in 1980.
Crouch and the Disciples
toured worldwide, and in 1975 and 1979
they performed to sellout crowds at the
Hollywood Bowl and New York's Carnegie
Hall.
Taking home Grammy
awards every year from 1978
through 1981, Crouch did
not let
stardom
interfere with his
songwriting activities and
several of his 1970s
compositions, including
"Through It All" and "Take
Me Back," have entered the
gospel tradition's standard
repertory.
Their contemporary
gospel sound reached beyond the
traditional
African American
base and touched a racially and
musically diverse audience. The
Disciples disbanded in 1981 and Andrae'
continued with the Andrae' Crouch
singers. Several musical acts and solo
performers covered his more popular
works, further expanding Crouch's
musical influence.
In 2004, Crouch became
1 of only 3 gospel musicians honored
with a star in the Hollywood Walk of
Fame. In 2006, he released
Mighty Wind,
a 40th anniversary album featuring guest
performances by
Marvin Winans,
Crystal Lewis,
Karen Clark Sheard,
and Lauren Evans.
[ from the
entry for Andrea
Crouch on
Wikipedia.com
and
from the entry for Andrea Crouch
on
answers.com
]
