Gospel singer Richard Smallwood dies at 77, leaving legacy that inspired many musicians

Richard Smallwood, a gospel singer and recording artist who has been nominated eight times Grammy Awardsalready dead. He is 77 years old.

Smallwood died Tuesday of complications from kidney failure at the Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring, Maryland”, announced his representative Bill Carpenter.

Carpenter said in an interview that Smallwood had had health problems for years and that music gave him the strength to endure it.

“Richard loved music very much and that’s why he’s been alive all these years,” he said. “Making music that made people feel something made him want to keep breathing, keep moving, keep living.”

Over the years, Smallwood’s songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Destiny’s Child and Boyz II Men.

Smallwood ‘opened up my whole world of gospel music’, singer-songwriter chaka khan he wrote on Facebook after his death.

“His music not only inspired me, it changed me,” she said. “He was my favorite pianist and his talent, spirit and dedication to music shaped the journeys of generations, including my own.”

Smallwood was born on November 30, 1948. Atlanta According to biographical material provided by Carpenter, he began playing the piano by ear at the age of 5. At the age of 7, he began formal lessons. He formed his own gospel group when he was 11 years old.

He was raised primarily in Washington, D.C., by his mother, Mabel, and his stepfather, the Rev. Chester Lee “CL” Smallwood. His stepfather is the pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington.

Smallwood was a musical pioneer in many ways Howard University In Washington, he graduated magna cum laude with a music degree. He was a member of Howard’s first gospel group, the Celestials. Carpenter was also a founding member of the university’s gospel choir, according to his obituary.

After college, Smallwood taught music at the University of Maryland and formed the Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977, bringing a modern sound to traditional gospel music. He later formed a large choir, Vision, for which he wrote some of his biggest gospel songs, including “Total Praise.”

“Total Praise” became a modern hymn that touched people from all backgrounds and walks of life, Carpenter said by phone Wednesday.

“You can go into any type of church — black church, white church, non-denominational church — and you’re likely to hear that song,” he said. “Somehow it took hold throughout Christendom. If he had never written anything else, it would have found its way into modern hymnals.”

Members of his Vision choir helped care for Smallwood as mild dementia and other health issues prevented him from recording music in recent years.

Khan said his legacy will live on “through every note and every soul he touched.”

“I’m really looking forward to singing with you in heaven,” she said.