Andre Crouch dies at age 72, leaving the world missing a celebrated gospel musician, singer, songwriter and choir director who bridged the worlds of church and mainstream music for more than 50 years. Also known as the Father of Modern Gospel, Andre Crouch dies Thursday afternoon after being hospitalized since Saturday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in the Los Angeles area.
According to his publicist, Brian Mayes, Andre Crouch dies after suffering a heart attack.
Before Andre Crouch dies, the Grammy Award-winning musician wrote contemporary standards, surpassing a difficult feat of bridging the black and white Christian communities.
The 72-year-old led choirs that sang hits such as Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and Madonna's "Like a Prayer." He also wrote several gospel favorites, such as the notable "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute (To God Be the Glory)" and "Soon and Very Soon," sung at the King of Pop's public memorial service.
He also arranged and conducted for the soundtrack of the animated film "Lion King", according to NPR.
Andre Crouch dies and the public remembers his humble beginnings, being the son of a preacher who opened a pentacostal church in only a garage in the San Fernando Valley when he was nine.
"I learned as my father needed a piano player in his church," said Crouch in a 1980s TV special hosted by LeVar Burton. "He needed a piano player and he prayed for me one Sunday. And I started playing the piano about three weeks later."
A San Francisco native, he grew up in the Church of God in Christ. His gift in creating gospel music was apparent even at 14, when he wrote his first gospel tune. By 1960, he had already formed the Church of God in Christ Singers, a group featuring Billy Preston on keyboards, according to USA Today.
In 1965, before Andre Crouch dies, he began the Andraé Crouch & the Disciples, a group that eventually signed to a contemporary Christian label, Light Records.
The talented composer was able to bring contemporary pop and R&B melodic sensibility to gospel, which made him uniquely suited to appeal to both black and white audiences during the early days of the countercultural "Jesus movement". This talent eventually gave him the attention he deserved beyond the church.
Crouch's "I've Got Confidence" was also recorded by Elvis for his 1972 gospel album "He Touched Me," and Paul Simon recorded his "Jesus Is the Answer" on 1974's "Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin".
Before Andre Crouch dies, he became the go-to vocal arranger for Los Angeles recording sessions needing a gospel sound, paving opportunities for him to work with some of the greatest musicians in history including Jackson, Madonna, Elton John, Quincy Jones, The Commodores, Diana Ross and Ringo Starr.
His gospel albums reportedly featured beloved guests from the R&B and jazz worlds, including Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Wilton Felder and Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey. Before Andre Crouch dies, Chaka Khan, Sheila E. and vocal group Take 6 also appeared on most recent album, 2011's "The Journey."
He was able to bring home seven Grammys, as well as receive an Academy Award nomination for arranging work on the 1985 film "The Color Purple."
"Andraé himself was, I think, by the kindest yardstick, a gentle vocalist. Not a housewrecker," said Anthony Heilbut, writer of the definitive history of gospel music, called "The Gospel Sound" and a book of essays called "The Fan Who Knew Too Much."
Heilbut reportedly featured some of gospel's dirty laundry in the latter book. Still he said Crouch knew how to move a congregation.
"His compositions have had an extreme importance and are very very popular, and the responses to the songs are very emotional," Heilbut said. "He really was a visionary then, in taking the theology, combined with these ambitious melodies."
Even after all the accolades, before Andre Crouch dies, he told NPR in 2006 that the melodies he created weren't all his.
"I just wanted to, you know, keep up with what he has given me. And I don't think that it will ever drain out of me. I think that as long as I want to do music I think that God will continually pour into me," he said.
What's even more praiseworthy is the fact that throughout his life, Crouch has been struggling with dyslexia. Sometimes, he reportedly had to memorize words by the shapes of their combination of letters. He also had to draw simple pictures to guide his comprehension of words and write songs.
Prior to Andre Crouch dying, he already had health issues including diabetes and cancer. Last month, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and congestive heart failure, forcing him to cancel his "Let the Church Say Amen Celebration" tour, scheduled to begin Dec. 6 in Philadelphia, according to the Associated Press.
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