Richard Smallwood: A Groundbreaking Gospel Legend Who Continues to Inspire Today

In October 1995, Richard Smallwood’s mother was sick, his godbrother was terminally ill, and he was shuttling between the hospital and his home in the District to care for both.

Despite his stress, Smallwood, a graduate of Howard University, sat down at the piano in his living room and started to compose  a song with words that began with, “Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills.”

He said It took “about an hour and a half,”  to record,  “Total Praise,” on his cassette player, and Bill Carpenter, author of “Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Encyclopedia,” said  the song has become one of the most performed songs by choirs in history.

“The gift that Richard Smallwood brought was the polish of classical music and combined it with traditional Black church music to create a unique yet contemporary sound in the1980s,” said Carpenter, who dedicated an entire chapter on Smallwood in his book.

Smallwood’s District roots go back to childhood. Born in Atlanta, he moved with his mother Mabel and stepfather the Rev. Chester Smallwood, who was the visionary behind and first pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church. 

The gospel composer and singer’s recording career began in 1982 with the album “The Richard Smallwood Singers.” The album spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel chart. Its follow-up  “Psalms” was nominated for a Grammy. 

Two years later the album “Texture,” which spawned the now-classic “Center Of My Joy” written by Smallwood and Bill and Gloria Gaither, was also nominated. The legendary artist won his first Grammy, along with a Dove Award for his production of Quincy Jones’ gospel project “Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration.”

During the Ronald Reagan administration, Smallwood accompanied opera legend Leontyne Price at a White House Christmas celebration. His music remains on the airwaves and is sung by choirs around the world to this day. Renditions of his tunes have been recorded by artists such as Destiny’s Child, Yolanda Adams, Karen Clark-Sheard, and many more. 

With his current group Vision, Smallwood has recorded several projects for Verity records. He finished his master’s degree in Divinity from Howard University in 2004 and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

In November 2023, gospel artists flocked to First Baptist Church of Highland Park to honor Smallwood for his 75th birthday, performing many of his classic songs.

“Praise the Lord and Happy Birthday Richard Smallwood,” said radio announcer Jacquie Gales-Webb, who added that before the legendary artist, many choirs were relegated to traditional choir robes and album covers where they stood on a hill looking toward Heaven.

Then came Smallwood. Whether it was the Smallwood Singers or his group Vision, the singer and musical director became one of the most popular artists, “on the planet,” Gales Webb said.

Joyce Garrett, minister of Music at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia said she has “been in awe of [Smallwood’s] talents since the 1970s when the Howard University Gospel Choir recorded its first album.”

“As soon as  Richard Smallwood recorded a new song, I would teach it to my students at Eastern High School,” Garrett told The Informer in November.

The November celebratory concert concluded with all of the groups and audience singing Smallwood’s famous “Total Praise,” which has become an anthem in many churches across the country.

Before that selection, Smallwood sat in front of the stage and said that people from the Washington, D.C. area have been his most devoted supporters.

“Thank you, thank you,” he said. “This.has been one of the most amazing moments in my life.”