[1][2] The Chicago Tribune stated that "Andrews' throaty contralto made her low notes thunder, while the enormous range of her instrument enabled her to reach stratospheric pitches without falsetto".

[5] She was referred to in 2012 by the New York Times as "the last great female vocalist of gospel's golden age," ranking among the likes of other music legends from the "Golden Era" of Black Gospel (1945–60) – Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams, Dorothy Love Coates, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Clara Ward.

Andrews began her singing career in the 1940s with two groups in Birmingham, Alabama: Carter's Choral Ensemble and the Original Gospel Harmonettes.

Coates recommended Andrews to the Caravans, and she eventually moved north to Chicago to become widely known as that group's first successful singer, leading them to the high of their popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s.

In 2006, she released a reunion album with The Caravans, Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, and original soprano Delores Washington, entitled Paved the Way.

After a stellar career with the Caravans, she left the group in 1962 and had huge success with her 1972 crossover hit, "Lord Don't Move the Mountain".

Andrews claimed to have written the gospel standard "No Tears In Heaven" early in her singing career.

[3] She was the paternal grandmother of New Orleans native and female impersonator LeJeune Davis, known professionally as Cyndi Ambivalent.