Sandra Crouch (1942-2024)

This week's newsletter unpacks the massive contributions of this singer/songwriter/musician/producer/arranger/pastor to popular music.

The last few weeks have seemed like a non-stop torrent of loss. I’ve had things planned for this newsletter and the podcast, but death seems to keep interrupting the plans.

I was not at all prepared for the calls I got, back to back, late Sunday afternoon telling me that Sandra Crouch had died. I didn’t know her, but the people who called knew that I loved her and they wanted me to know before the news went all around the world. A world without Sandra (or Andraé) Crouch in it is hard to fathom. Her music has been present in my life since I was born. Her solo albums in the eighties and nineties were companions for me in incredibly hard and lonely times.

With her twin brother, Andraé, she innovated the contemporary gospel sound in his early group The COGICS, and simultaneously began a career as a session musician, playing percussion on everything from the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and “ABC” to Janis Joplin’s posthumous Pearl album.

When Andraé launched his group, The Disciples, in 1965, she was once again there providing vocal and instrumental support as the group became a driver in the development of contemporary gospel and (what would later become known as) contemporary Christian music. They broke color lines in the Jesus Movement, performing at the seminal Explo ‘72. Sandra co-wrote the Disciples’ anthem “Jesus Is The Answer” which, today, can be found in hymnals. By the end of the decade, she and the Disciples found themselves at the White House, performing for President Jimmy Carter.

Her presence in the Disciples was significant. Women musicians were a rare sighting in contemporary Christian music, let alone as a percussionist playing in a band of men (Crouch’s good friend Judy Gossett was another rarity in this regard). While notions of what made a woman virtuous were rooted in conventional notions of femininity, Sandra Crouch played with ferocity, and was known to testify like a revivalist when given the opportunity.

In 1981, she formed her own band and began taking engagements at Jesus Music festivals, showcasing her own songs and musical vision. She stepped into the spotlight as a recording artist in her own right with 1983’s We Sing Praises, which produced monster hits like the Jean Johnson-led “He’s Worthy” and “Magnify the Lord (We Sing Praises).” The album earned three Grammy nominations and took home the award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female. All nine of the album’s tracks were Sandra Crouch compositions.

Her 1985 album, We’re Waiting, met similar success. The album’s “Completely Yes” (led by Sandra and Jean Johnson with an ecstatic reprise featuring Táta Vega) was an instant classic, finding its way into choir stands around the world, a mainstay during altar calls to this day. We’re Waiting was on the forefront of what a contemporary choir of the eighties might look like. Just as the New York Community Choir had incorporated gospel with disco sounds in the prior decade, Sandra Crouch merged traditional gospel with eighties pop and R&B sounds while maintaining the spirit of the gospel sound. While “Completely Yes” satisfied older listeners, “Glorify the Lord” (in the video at the top of this newsletter) and the album’s title track toyed with rock and pop (with synthesizers by future pop hit maker Rhett Lawrence), making something that younger listeners could listen to and not feel so removed from “the world.”

While Sandra was innovating as a solo artist, she was also involved in creating vocal arrangements with Andraé for historic pop tracks like Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” (Sandra also played tambourine on “Spanish Eyes” from the Like a Prayer album) and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” that incorporated the crew of singers that became known as the Andraé Crouch Singers. Their credits included The Color Purple soundtrack, Quincy Jones’ Back on the Block, Elton John’s 1993 duet with Little Richard, and Diana Ross’ The Force Behind the Power album—-just to name a few.

She earned her sixth Grammy nomination with 1991’s With All of My Heart, an album that further showcases her prowess as a songwriter, singer, producer, arranger, conductor and evangelist. When Rev. Benjamin Crouch, Andraé and Sandra’s father, died in 1993 and their brother, Benjamin Jr., died shortly thereafter, the two assumed the pastorate of their father’s church, Christ Memorial Church of God In Christ. Detailed in the article below, Andraé defied the Church of God In Christ’s refusal to ordain women as pastors and ordained Sandra.

She was also one of the few gospel artists who spoke out and took a compassionate stance during the AIDS epidemic, telling Oakland’s Tribune newspaper before an AIDS fundraiser with Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir, “I had a friend who recently died of AIDS and he was a wonderful man and good doctor. I said then I would have to do something. I think the church has to show its compassion. We can no longer walk past these problems, whether the church is a storefront or has 10,000 members.” Sandra became the senior pastor of Christ Memorial after Andraé’s death in 2015 and remained so until her own death this past week.

Musician and influencer Dara Tucker posted this tribute to Sandra Crouch that highlights her important contributions to the world of popular music and notes the lack of focus on the weight of her life’s work. Dara has joined me for this week’s podcast episode in which we unpack our thoughts about this amazing woman who will be deeply missed. You can listen on your preferred streaming outlet or below!

@darastarrtucker#greenscreenvideo #greenscreen #sandracrouch #andraecrouch #gospelmusichistory #gospelmusic #thewinans #winansfamily #walterhawkins #thehawkins #ralphcarmichael #lightrecords #sweetcomfortband #bryanduncan #rebarambo #commissioned #womenwhochangedmusic

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