Gospel singer, 8-time Grammy winner dies
Richard Smallwood, a gospel singer and recording artist nominated eight times for Grammy Awards, has died. He was 77.
Smallwood died Tuesday of complications of kidney failure at a rehabilitation and nursing center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, his representative Bill Carpenter announced.
Smallwood had health issues for many years, and music gave him the strength to endure, Carpenter said.
“Richard was so dedicated to music, and that was the thing that kept him alive all these years,” he said. “Making music that made people feel something is what made him want to keep breathing and keep moving and keep living.”
Smallwood’s songs were performed and recorded over the years by artists such as Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Destiny’s Child and Boyz II Men. Houston brought his music to film by performing “I Love the Lord” in the 1996 movie “The Preacher’s Wife,” according to Smallwood’s biography at the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.