The gospel world just lost one of its true architects.
Richard Smallwood, the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, pianist, and choir master whose music soundtracked church services, funerals, graduations, and late-night prayers for generations, has sadly died. He was 77 years old.
RELATED:Gospel Singer Kim Burrell Seeks Peace And Apologizes To The LGBTQ+ Community For Past Remarks
A representative confirmed to Variety that Smallwood passed away Tuesday from complications related to kidney failure at Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Maryland.
If you’ve ever been in a sanctuary when the organ swells and the room goes quiet before somebody starts crying, chances are Richard Smallwood’s fingerprints were all over that moment.
Smallwood wasn’t just another gospel artist he was that musician. Classically trained, church-rooted, and spiritually fearless, he carved out a lane where complex harmonies met raw faith.
Over his legendary career, he earned eight Grammy nominations and took home multiple Dove and Stellar Awards, all while reshaping how gospel music could sound and feel.
As the leader of the Richard Smallwood Singers, and later Vision, he delivered timeless records that still live heavy in church culture. Songs like “Total Praise,” “Trust Me,” and “I’ll Trust You” became staples, not just hits. These weren’t songs you listened to, they were songs you felt.
His reach went far beyond gospel circles. Whitney Houston famously reimagined “I Love the Lord” for The Preacher’s Wife, introducing Smallwood’s work to a global audience. Destiny’s Child later honored his legacy by covering “Total Praise” during their 2007 a cappella “Gospel Medley,” a nod that showed just how deep his influence ran.
Born in November 1948 in Atlanta and raised in Washington, D.C., Smallwood was musically gifted early. He started playing piano at just five years old and had already formed a gospel group by age 11. That calling followed him to Howard University, where he earned a music degree and became part of the school’s first gospel ensemble, the Celestials.
In 1977, he officially launched the Richard Smallwood Singers. Their debut album, The Richard Smallwood Singers, dropped in 1982 through Onyx Records and stayed on the Billboard Spiritual Album Sales chart for an impressive 87 weeks. By 1984, they landed their first Grammy nomination with Psalms, setting the stage for five more albums and a lasting legacy.
After disbanding the Singers in the early ’90s, Smallwood formed Vision, a choir that would walk with him musically through 2015. Their song “Trust Me” climbed to No. 9 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart and earned Smallwood his final Grammy nomination in 2012 for best gospel song.
In 2019, he opened his life to readers with Total Praise: The Autobiography, sharing not only his musical journey but his family’s deeply personal history. In recent years, health challenges, including mild dementia, kept him from recording new music, but his existing catalog never stopped ministering.
Richard Smallwood leaves behind brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and godchildren, along with millions of listeners who learned how to trust God a little more deeply through his songs.
Legends don’t really leave. They just stop playing.