The Crusaders were an American jazz group that was successful from the 1960s to the 1990s. The group was known as the Jazz Crusaders from its formation in 1960 until shortening its name in 1971. The Crusaders were comfortable playing a wide assortment of genres, from straight ahead jazz, to urban R&B, to R&B-based jazz, to even blues.

The Crusaders reached their apex in 1979 with their Huge Radio hit, 'Street Life', which crossed over onto the more popular R&B charts. The 'Street Life' album was a top 20 album on three Billboard charts and represents the peak of the band's commercial popularity. It was also a Top 40 pop single (No. 36) and became the group's most successful entry on the soul chart (No. 17). It was No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. "Street Life" also hit the disco chart, peaking at No. 75. In 1984 they recorded a track with Stock Aitken Waterman, Dead End, for inclusion on the compilation album Chunks Of Funk.

Probably one of the most versatile bands in modern music history. Their career spanned an incredible four decades, as they also performed in re-union concerts into the 2000's. The Crusaders recorded and released a huge catalog of songs and several members, most notably keyboardist Joe Sample, released many solo albums, featuring many members of different era Crusader lineups.