This Charleston native started music at age 17, performing his Poem for Orchestra with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (now West Virginia Symphony Orchestra), with both his parents playing in the group. After high school and earning several college degrees, he served as a music professor at the University of Pennsylvania for over 30 years.

He won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for his piece, Echoes of Time and the River. In that piece, he included the unique sound of people chanting West Virginia's state motto. His work Star Child won a Grammy Award in 2001. He also wrote a well-known series of keyboard pieces called Makrokosmos.

Crumb's music is known for being unique, often using exotic instruments like Tibetan prayer stones. He also included instruments that reflected his West Virginia roots, like the mandolin, banjo, and musical saw.

He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007.