The previously announced Celebration of Life services for Grammy® Award winning gospel singer and pastor, SANDRA CROUCH, have changed. The April 16-17th proceedings will relocate from Crouch’s New Christ Memorial Church in Pacoima, CA to Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, CA, to accommodate a larger audience.
Singers such as El DeBarge (who led Andraé Crouch’s 1994 Top Ten hit, “Lord is My Light”), Donnie McClurkin, David & Nicole Binion, and Erica & Tina Campbell (Mary Mary) are among the confirmed artists and friends who will perform at the musical tribute on Tuesday, April 16th @ 7 PM. On Wednesday, April 17th, Pastor Marvin Winans (of the Grammy® winning Winans group), will attend the homegoing service where Crouch will be eulogized by her spiritual son and Assistant Church Pastor, Kenneth J. Cook. The services will be streamed live.
Sandra Elaine Crouch died of complications from radiation for a non-cancerous brain lesion on Sunday, March 17, 2024 @ 1 PST at Northridge Hospital. She and her twin brother, Andraé Edward Crouch , were born on July 1, 1942, in Los Angeles, CA. Their parents, Benjamin and Catherine Crouch founded Christ Memorial Church C.O.G.I.C. in the San Fernando Valley. The twins formed The COGICS gospel group while in high school and released their first record, “It Will Never Lose Its Power,” on Vee Jay Records in 1964. Then, they formed Andraé Crouch and the Disciples in 1966. Sandra split her time between the group and launching a parallel career as a session percussionist in Hollywood on recordings by Motown acts such as The Jackson 5, Neil Diamond, Janis Joplin, Gabor Szabo, Mongo Santamaria, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, among others.
In the 1970s, Andraé Crouch and the Disciples were the biggest gospel act in the world with radio hits such as “Take Me Back,” “Soon and Very Soon,” “Through It All,” and “My Tribute (To God Be the Glory).” Sandra and Andraé co-wrote, “Jesus is the Answer,” a crossover hit on white and black gospel radio stations. It’s been covered by over 75 artists including Paul Simon, and Michael W. Smith. They toured internationally and performed on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “Saturday Night Live,” and at The White House.
In the 1980s, Crouch composed, and produced a trio of best-selling solo LPs that included congregational and gospel radio hits such as “Completely Yes,” “He’s Worthy,” “There is Power in the Blood,” and “We Need to Hear From You.” Every album earned a Grammy® Award nomination. In 1984, We Sing Praises earned three and she won in the category of Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female. Crouch also coordinated choirs for various Grammy® Award telecasts such as Michael Jackson’s 1988 performance of “Man in the Mirror.” The show’s producer, Ken Ehrlich, says, “I just remember what a presence she was. … I really loved Sandra. She was terrific, and she was always together.” She also produced a rare, televised Grammy® gospel performance with Al Green as the star of the segment. “She could take all those different personalities and pull them together into one unified voice,” says soul singer, Candi Staton.
Over the years, Andraé Crouch began to work on film soundtracks and always included Sandra.
“She genuinely did not mind shining from the back,” says producer, Donald Lawrence. “She LOVED seeing others win.” Quincy Jones tapped them to work on “The Color Purple.” They wrote “Heaven Belongs to You” for it and they sang “Maybe God Is Trying to Tell You Something” on the soundtrack. That led to other scores for the films “The Lion King” and “Free Willy.” In addition, the twins assembled choirs that backed artists such as Madonna on “Like A Prayer,” Diana Ross on “Force Behind the Power,” and Michael Jackson on “You Are Not Alone.”
In 1998, Andraé Crouch became pastor of Christ Memorial Church after his brother, Pastor Benjamin Crouch Jr. passed. He named Sandra as co-pastor and renamed the assembly as New Christ Memorial Church to signify a new era. Andraé Crouch passed on January 8, 2015. Upon his death, Sandra Crouch assumed the role of Senior Pastor and had been active up until recently.
TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
4 PM Viewing
7 PM Musical Tribute
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024
11 AM Celebration of Life /Homegoing Service
All Celebration of Life activities will take place at Faithful Central Bible Church, 321 N. Eucalyptus Avenue, Inglewood, CA 90302. In lieu of flowers, please make tax deductible donations to Christ Memorial Church at www.newchristmemorial.org
