Del was born in Toledo, Ohio September 28, 1960, to Curtis and Loretta (Brownlee) Grace, and raised up in the Jewell Dominion Church organization for the first 35 years of his life. Like many impressionable youths in the church, Del was encouraged by older musicians to learn the church’s music tradition. He played multiple instruments such as steel guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums.

Del grew very fond of the steel guitar and began to follow in the footsteps of some of the great pioneers of the tradition such as Henry Wayne White (Detroit, Michigan), James Tubby Golden (Cleveland, Ohio), and Lorenzo L. Harrison (Indianapolis, Indiana).

In 2009, Del and wife, Kelli L. Grace founded Sacred Strings Records Inc., an independent record label and began building the largest audio and video catalog of African American Sacred Steel players in the world. Del R. Grace Sr. was inducted into the Sacred Steel Hall of Fame in 2015.