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Richard Smallwood, a revered vocalist and songwriter who scored a twelve Top 10 albums and 4 No. 1s connected nan Billboard gospel floor plan and amassed 8 Grammy nominations during his agelong career, died Tuesday of kidney nonaccomplishment successful Sandy Spring, MD. He was 77.
His family announced nan news connected Instagram, and his publicist Bill Carpenter confirmed nan specifications to nan Washington Post.
Born connected November 30, 1948, successful Washington, D.C., Smallwood released a mates of albums successful nan 1970s pinch a section religion choir earlier hitting large pinch The Richard Smallwood Singers successful 1982. The LP deed No. 2 connected Billboard’s gospel albums floor plan and would spent much than a twelvemonth and a half connected that tally. His 1984 follow-up disc, Pslams, continued what would go a drawstring of six consecutive Top 10 gospel albums pinch nan group done 1992. It besides earned Smallwood his first Grammy nomination, for Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo aliases Group.
Perhaps his best-known opus is “Total Praise,” first recorded pinch his group Vision connected a 1996 unrecorded album. It was featured successful a 2001 medley by nan Beyoncé-led Destiny’s Child, who besides released a unrecorded type of nan afloat opus nan pursuing year. Stevie Wonder played “Total Praise” during nan 2014 memorial work for Martin Luther King’s boy Dexter Scott King.
The opus later provided nan title for Smalwood’s 2019 autobiography.
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Whitney Houston sang a type of Smallwood’s “I Love nan Lord” successful Penny Marshall’s 1996 movie The Preacher’s Wife, successful which Houston starred pinch Denzel Washington.
Smallwood’s biggest commercialized occurrence came successful 2011 pinch Vision, whose medium Promises hit No. 1 connected nan gospel floor plan and crossed complete to scope No. 63 connected nan Billboard 200 medium tally. Its way “Trust Me” became Smallwood’s lone Top 10 connected nan gospel singles floor plan and earned him a last Grammy nom, for Best Gospel Song. He besides had back-to-back chart-topping unrecorded albums successful 2006 and 2015.
Smallwood played soft arsenic a featured creator connected Kirk Franklin’s 2000 azygous “Don’t Cry,” which was a Top 10 gospel hit.
Along nan measurement he won 4 Dove Awards connected 19 nominations from nan Gospel Music Association and was inducted into its Hall of Fame successful 2006. He was up for Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of nan Year astatine nan 2025 Doves arsenic a co-writer of Ricky Dillard’s “When I Think.”
Information connected survivors was not instantly available.
