AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Richard Smallwood, a giant of gospel music, died on Tuesday. He was 77 years old. According to his publicist, Smallwood died of complications of kidney failure in Sandy Spring, Maryland. For decades, the composer and recording artist infused church hymns with a contemporary sound. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has this appreciation.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: From the very beginning of his life, Richard Smallwood could feel the power of music. His stepfather was a pastor, and his family spent most of their time in the church. Smallwood told Howard University's WHUT that his mother called him a humming baby.
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RICHARD SMALLWOOD: That's all I remember was the hymns and songs that were sung at the church. So they would put me in the crib, and I would hum.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Raised in Washington, D.C., Smallwood started playing piano as a young child and formed his first gospel group when he was only 11 years old. He pursued his interest in music all the way to Howard University, where he was a member of the school's first gospel group, the Celestials. In 1977, he launched his recording career with the Richard Smallwood Singers.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CALL THE LORD")
THE RICHARD SMALLWOOD SINGERS: (Singing) When you can't seem to find your way, He will make the way.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The group's albums fused gospel with modern elements of funk and soul, which helped them find popularity with a younger audience. But Smallwood would also face pressure from labels to water down the religious messaging of his music. As he later explained to WHUT...
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SMALLWOOD: Call a spade a spade, it's going to be secular, which I have no problem with. I have no problem with a good love song, but let's call it what it is. And I think as a minister, and as music being my ministry for so long, the message has to be concise and clear.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CENTER OF MY JOY")
GAITHER VOCAL BAND AND RICHARD SMALLWOOD: (Singing) Jesus, you're the center of my joy.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Throughout his career, Smallwood was nominated for eight Grammys and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Many of his songs were recorded and performed by other artists, including Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Destiny's Child. He told WHUT that his faith centered him through it all.
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SMALLWOOD: I'm just grateful that, you know, God chose me to do what it is that he chose me to do. And if I can, you know, use that to help people, then that's what it's about.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOTAL PRAISE")
SMALLWOOD: (Singing) Lord, I will lift...
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Following the news of Smallwood's death, many penned tributes on social media, including funk legend Chaka Khan. She wrote, quote, "his music didn't just inspire me. It transformed me." Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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