My Tribute to Andrae' Crouch; By His Friends & Former FB Admin, Dave Nassaney

Listen TODAY to speak with Dave Nassaney, former Facebook Administrator to Andrae' Crouch (currently at 81,000 followers) and Andrae's closest friends, to share funny "Andrae' stories" and the good times we all had with him celebrating his zest for life. Podcast now available 24 days/hours/day, 7 days/week. Those who knew him well are missing his beautiful spirit already, and his huge fan base will definitely be missing his timeless new anointed songs and arrangements!

For those of you who had not heard, Andrae' Crouch, The God Father of Contemporary Gospel Music, died at age 72 from complications from Saturday's heart attack. Andrae' was an innovator, a path-finder, a precursor in an industry noted for its conservative, often derivative approach to popular music. He combined gospel and rock, flavored it with jazz and calypso as the mood struck him and the song called for it, and is even one of the founders of what is now called “praise and worship” music. He took risks with his art and was very, very funky when he wanted to be.

When Michael Jackson or Madonna or Quincy Jones needed a gospel song or a gospel chorus, they called Andrae. That’s his music on the soundtrack to The Color Purple (where he earned an Oscar nomination), the Broadway musical The Lion King, and the pop songs “Man in the Middle” and “Like a Prayer.”

His first gospel group included Billy Preston, Elvis recorded one of his songs. Podcast available Jan.14

Full article is at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/january-web-only/remembering-andrae-crouch-dead-at-72.html?paging=off