Voices of Hope
Katy, Texas- October 12, 2015
Lakewood singers, Katy residents, and siblings Steve Crawford and Da’dra Crawford Greathouse journey from award-winning gospel group to center stage at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church
From the moment they were born, Steve Crawford and Da’dra Crawford Greathouse felt an incredible connection to music that they credit to their family. Greathouse remembers singing in front of a congregation when she was 3 years old, standing on a table with her mother holding her hand. “Both my grandmother and my father were musicians. In our family, if you were old enough to stand still, you were out front singing,” Crawford adds. It was that deep love for gospel music that inspired them to create the gospel group, Anointed, and later become headlining worship leaders for Houston’s Lakewood Church.
During their childhood, the siblings sang with various choirs and performed as the Crawford Family Band where they were encouraged to create their own music. “Mom made sure we got to be kids, too. We had time to watch Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk before our rehearsals and shows,” says Greathouse.
group, Anointed, released
seven albums between
1993 and 2005, received seven Dove awards, and three Grammy nominations
A Song to Inspire
One night, the two were at a gospel concert when Greathouse suddenly felt a calling for a musical group. After meeting with her brother and friends Denise Walls and Mary Tiller, Anointed was officially in business. “Our purpose was to branch out to other people our age. We gathered around the piano, sang together, and the sound was amazing,” Crawford says. Steve describes their sound as a synergy between gospel, jazz, and pop music.
Crawford and Greathouse truly believe music has the ability and power to inspire people – to give them hope. “Music can affect moods and emotions. It can encourage and lift people up, or it can bring them down. Lyrics are just as important as the melody. Words have a power to them,” says Crawford.
The Call to Lakewood
In 2006, Lakewood Church was looking for someone to fill in while their worship leader went on tour, and they thought of Anointed. The duo flew to Houston that June to visit Lakewood, where they performed at the first Saturday night service after arriving. Afterward they were offered a job.
Spreading Their Wings
in Katy New to the Houston area and Texas altogether, Greathouse remembers that a friend suggested that if she had kids, she should live in Katy. “I’m so glad I took that advice because we love it here,” Greathouse says. Her son Evan plays center for the Katy High School Tigers varsity football team. Evan also plays drums for the children’s program at Lakewood.
Her younger son, Eran, sings and leads worship at a Saturday service for first- and second-graders. Steve also moved his family to Katy and enjoys living here. His son Steve Jr. plays soccer with the Albion Hurricanes, and his daughters, Aniya and Sydney, sing in the children’s choir at Lakewood. Throughout their musical careers, Crawford and Greathouse have remained grounded in faith and family, values taught by their mother and father. It is these same values that they hope to instill in their own children. “Family is everything,” Crawford says. “My children are my legacy and I want them to have integrity, respect and love others, and love God.” KM
CHERRI NORTHCUTT is a freelance journalist. She has been living in Katy for 15 years with her husband and daughters.
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