Award-winning singer, composer, and iconic gospel music artist Richard Smallwood died on December 30th at a nursing home in Maryland. His family announced the news via social media. He was 77 years old. The pianist and choirmaster died from complications of kidney failure.
Table of Contents
A Beloved Son of Washington, D.C.
While Smallwood was born in Atlanta, he was raised by his mother, Mabel, and his stepfather, the Reverend Chester Lee “CL Smallwood, in the nation’s capital. Reverend Smallwood was the pastor of the Union Temple Baptist Church in the Southeast section of the district.
His connection to music began when he was five, playing the piano by ear. By seven, he began formal lessons and joined his first gospel group as a preteen. After graduating from McKinley Technical High School, Smallwood went to Howard University. There, he became a founding member of Howard University’s Gospel Choir and a member of the Celestial Singers before graduating cum laude.
His Debut Album Spent 87 Weeks on the Billboard Charts
Inspired by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, the composer and arranger formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977. They were signed to Onyx Records, a division of Benson Records, in 1982. The group’s self-titled debut album topped Billboard Spiritual Albums sales charts for months. Two years later, the group was up for their first Grammy for Psalms.
In 1987, one of Smallwood’s most beloved songs, “Center of My Joy,” was released on the album “Textures.” The song made the composer a crossover sensation. In the 1990s, he formed Richard Smallwood and Vision, which featured a larger choir. Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, the group released four albums and several well-known hits. They include “I’ll Trust You, “Angels,” and “Total Praise.”
Whitney Houston sang a version of Smallwood’s “I Love the Lord” in the film The Preacher’s Wife, and Destiny’s Child released a live version of “Total Praise” in 2001.
Total Praise was a very personal song for the artist because it was a reflection of the composer’s battle with depression.
The Washington Post reported “Total Praise,” released in 1996 with his gospel group Vision, was inspired by his experience caring for his mother, who had dementia, and for a family friend who had cancer. Mr. Smallwood said he had decided “to write a pity-party song,” but found himself praising God instead, crafting lyrics that reasserted his faith in a moment of despair.”
Grammy Nominations, Dove and Stellar Awards
In total, the contemporary gospel maestro received eight Grammy nominations. He received the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award at the Stellar Awards. And his most recent Dove nomination was this year as a co-writer; Ricky Dillard’s “When I Think” was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
Smallwood didn’t perform or record as much in recent years because he also had mild dementia and several other health ailments.
[embedded content]
