Celebrated GMA Dove Award and GRAMMY-winning gospel artist and preacher, SANDRA CROUCH died on Sunday March 17th aged 81. A star in her own right, she was the twin sister of late gospel great Andraé Crouch.
Crouch’s death was confirmed on the Facebook page of New Christ Memorial Church in California, where she served as Senior Pastor. The church’s Assistant Pastor, Kenneth J. Cook issued this statement: “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that at 12pm today, March 17, 2024, our beloved Senior Pastor Sandra Elaine Crouch transitioned into the arms of the Lord. We as believers know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We will forever cherish the memories and teachings we received from her. Details on the service will be forthcoming.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1942 Sandra won two GMA Dove Awards, first in 1984 for Traditional Black Gospel Album of the Year for ‘We Sing Praises’ and then again in 1993 for ‘With All Of My Heart.’
She was also a Grammy winner in 1984 for “Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female” for her album, ‘We Sing Praises’. She was Grammy nominated again in 1986 and it’s believed that in the late 1960s through the early 1970s, she played the tambourine on a number of Motown recording sessions in Los Angeles – including, possibly, the Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’. Until his death in January 2015, she and her brother Andraé co-pastored Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ in Pacoima, California.
