Richard Smallwood, one of gospel music’s most influential composers and choir leaders, has died aged 77. The classically trained singer, pianist and songwriter passed away on Tuesday, December 30, at 12:36am at the Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, following complications from kidney failure.
Across more than five decades, Smallwood reshaped modern gospel through compositions that crossed into mainstream culture while remaining deeply rooted in faith and tradition.
Born in Atlanta on November 30, 1948, and raised primarily in Washington, D.C., Smallwood grew up in a household steeped in church life. His stepfather, Reverend Chester Lee “CL” Smallwood, was the long-serving pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church, a major spiritual and cultural centre in southeast Washington. Smallwood began playing piano by ear at the age of five, moved into formal training by seven, and by eleven had already formed his own gospel group, signalling a vocation that would define his life.
His education placed him among an extraordinary generation of Black American artists. At Howard University, where he graduated cum laude with degrees in music and undertook further study in ethnomusicology and divinity, Smallwood studied under teachers including Roberta Flack, before her own recording career took off. His classmates included Donny Hathaway, Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad. He was a founding member of Howard’s first gospel choir and part of The Celestials, the university’s pioneering gospel ensemble that became the first gospel act to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
After a period teaching music at the University of Maryland, Smallwood launched the Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977, inspired by seeing the Edwin Hawkins Singers perform live. The group brought a sophisticated, contemporary approach to gospel, blending classical harmony, jazz phrasing and traditional church fervour. Signed to Onyx Records in 1982, their debut album, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Spiritual Albums chart, an extraordinary run that marked Smallwood as a major new voice.
Success accelerated with Psalms in 1984, which reached number one on the same chart and earned a Grammy nomination. Unlike many gospel acts of the era, the Smallwood Singers attracted a young, educated audience, reflecting both the cosmopolitan sound and Smallwood’s own academic grounding. Albums such as Textures in 1987 further expanded that reach, producing “Center Of My Joy”, a song co-written with Bill and Gloria Gaither that blended pop accessibility with a powerful choral climax. The track became one of Smallwood’s signature compositions and introduced him to a broader Christian audience beyond traditional gospel circles.
Smallwood’s writing travelled far beyond his own recordings. “I Love The Lord” became a gospel standard after being recorded by Whitney Houston for The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, later appearing in other mainstream contexts, including work by Boyz II Men. “Total Praise”, introduced in the late 1990s, grew into one of the most widely performed modern gospel songs, later adapted by Destiny’s Child as part of their “Gospel Medley”. His catalogue was recorded by artists ranging from Yolanda Adams to Karen Clark-Sheard, underlining the breadth of his influence.
By the early 1990s, Smallwood had worked with most major gospel labels before settling at Verity Records. He disbanded the original Singers and formed Vision, a large backing choir that featured on albums such as Persuaded: Live In D.C. and Journey: Live In New York. The latter, released in 2007, captured a landmark concert with guest appearances from Chaka Khan, Kim Burrell, Kelly Price and members of the Hawkins family, bridging gospel, soul and contemporary R&B traditions.
Beyond his own projects, Smallwood’s musicianship placed him alongside cultural giants. He contributed to Quincy Jones’ Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, winning a Grammy for his production work, and accompanied opera legend Leontyne Price at a White House Christmas celebration during the Reagan administration. His honours included eight Grammy nominations, multiple Dove and Stellar Awards, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and a President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
In later years, declining health, including mild dementia, limited his ability to record and perform. His final album, Anthology Live, arrived in 2015, and his 2019 autobiography, Total Praise, reflected candidly on grief, depression and faith. Throughout, Smallwood maintained that music was not performance but ministry, a philosophy evident in compositions that continue to resonate in churches worldwide.
Richard Smallwood is survived by his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and several godchildren. His songs remain a cornerstone of modern gospel, a body of work that balanced musical discipline with spiritual depth, and carried a message that reached far beyond the church walls.
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