Richard Smallwood

Smallwood, Richard. b. Atlanta, Georgia, 30 November 1948; d. Sandy Spring, Maryland, 30 December 2025.  Celebrated singer, songwriter, arranger, ensemble director, and recording artist, Smallwood is one of the most influential figures in African-American gospel music.  In the late 1960s, he attended Howard University in Washington, DC, where he studied classical piano and arranging.  In 1977, he formed the Richard Smallwood Singers, and their self-titled debut release (1982) spent more than 18 months on Billboard’s Gospel Music Chart.  Smallwood was featured on the highly acclaimed album, Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (Warner Alliance, 1992), a gospel reinterpretation of...