Whitney Houston<\/a>\u00a0recorded Smallwood’s song, I Love the Lord, for the soundtrack of The Preacher’s Wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n ![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/105139521-15425401-image-a-2_1767203465840.jpg\")
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Richard Smallwood, the celebrated gospel singer, whose music left a lasting imprint on both sacred and mainstream audiences, has died at the age of 77; seen in 2016<\/p>\n
The song’s influence extended further the following year when Boyz II Men incorporated a portion of I Love the Lord into their 1997 album Evolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smallwood’s compositions were also covered by Destiny’s Child group members Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and T. Michelle Williams.<\/p>\n
Throughout his life, Smallwood was widely respected not only for his musical talent but also for his commitment to faith, artistry and mentorship within the gospel community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tributes poured in across the globe on social media following the news.<\/p>\n
‘Richard Smallwood was a musical genius and giant of a figure in the church and the gospel music world,’ one X user wrote. ‘He was an inspiration to all who encountered his music. His songs got us through tough times, dark and difficult days. No grave can silence his voice. The melodies linger and the faith lives on!’<\/p>\n
Another wrote: ‘His music is timeless and will forever be classic. Richard Smallwood was definitely a musical genius who left a legacy that will live on for many generations to come.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘There will never, ever, EVER be another Richard Smallwood. His sweeping compositions and poetic lyrics have touched so many, myself included. You can feel his unyielding devotion to God in every piece of music he produced. He was a true master of his craft,’ a third tweeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smallwood kicked off his recording career\u00a0in 1982 with the album The Richard Smallwood Singers after graduating\u00a0cum laude from Howard University.<\/p>\n
![\"Smallwood](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/105139523-15425401-image-a-1_1767203459785.jpg\")
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Smallwood passed away on Tuesday from complications related to kidney failure while residing at a nursing home in Sandy Spring, Maryland, according to his representative (pictured in 2012)<\/p>\n
![\"His](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/105139893-15425401-image-a-2_1767205365663.jpg\")
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His work resonated far beyond church walls, earning him eight Grammy nominations and the admiration of artists across genres (seen in 2014)<\/p>\n
In addition to having his music recorded by\u00a0artists like\u00a0Yolanda Adams and Karen Clark-Sheard, he\u00a0accompanied opera singer Leontyne Price at a Christmas celebration at the White House during the Reagan administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After his death, songwriter Chaka Khan paid tribute on Facebook.<\/p>\n
‘His music didn’t just inspire me, it transformed me,’ she said. ‘He is my favorite pianist, and his brilliance, spirit, and devotion to the music have shaped generations, including my own journey.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She concluded: ‘He will be greatly missed, and his legacy will continue to live through every note and every soul he touched. I am truly looking forward to singing with you in heaven.’<\/p>\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/105139557-15425401-image-a-1_1767205292573.jpg\")
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One of his most enduring contributions came in 1996, when Whitney Houston recorded Smallwood’s song, I Love the Lord, for the soundtrack of The Preacher’s Wife; pictured in 2004<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
His biggest hits include the tracks Total Praise, Trust Me\u201d and I\u2019ll Trust You.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2019, he released the book Total Praise: The Autobiography, which chronicles his life as a musician and writer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Variety<\/a>,\u00a0Smallwood ‘battled mild dementia and other health issues that prevented him from recording new music.’<\/p>\nHe is survived by his siblings, nieces, nephews and godchildren.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Richard Smallwood, the celebrated gospel singer, whose music left a lasting imprint on both sacred and mainstream audiences,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[97,96,59,133786,105,478,56,54,55,86042],"class_list":["post-345302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dailymail","tag-entertainment","tag-gb","tag-kelly-rowland","tag-maryland","tag-tvshowbiz","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-whitney-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}