Gospel artist Richard Smallwood passed away from complications related to kidney failure at the Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, on December 30. His publicist confirmed in a statement to ABC affiliate 7News that the singer-songwriter died exactly a month after he celebrated his 77th birthday.Meanwhile, his family released a statement via his official Facebook account. The caption read:“We are saddened to announce the passing of world-renowned artist, songwriter, and musician Richard Smallwood. The family asks that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, while helping to celebrate the legacy he leaves behind and the gifts he unselfishly shared with the world.”Smallwood was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 30, 1948. His mother’s name was Mabel. Not much is known about his biological father. However, Richard was raised by his stepfather, Reverand Chester L. Smallwood, the first pastor at the Union Temple Baptist Church in the southeast of Washington, D.C.Richard Smallwood never married nor had any children of his own. He is survived by two brothers, three foster sisters, nieces, nephews, and many godchildren.About Richard Smallwood’s stepdadRev. Chester Smallwood founded the Greater New Hope Baptist Church alongside the New Hope Baptist Mission in November 1933. He served in the role of the head pastor for four years, during which he served the congregation alongside eighteen fellow officers, deacons, and trustees.After changing several locations in the first year of its service, the church opened its permanent doors in Neal Place, NW, in Atlanta. Later, it was recognized as a Baptist Church by the Ministers Conference in D.C. and Vicinity.The church website describes Richard Smallwood’s stepdad as a “progressive man with great courage” who believed “nothing was impossible with God.”Reverand Smallwood was succeeded by Rev. David Story as an acting pastor for six months, before Rev. Charles Henry Hamilton took charge as the head pastor.Later, he also preached at other local churches across D.C. and Georgia.Richard’s mother’s profession remains unknown. However, Mabel was sick in October 1995, an experience which inspired her son to write his iconic song Total Praise.Richard Smallwood’s career at a glanceWhile his stepdad had a successful career as a pastor, Richard Smallwood took up gospel music and formed his own eponymous group, The Richard Smallwood Singers, in 1977. It is best known for the soft-pop gospel ballad Center of My Joy from the 1987 LP Textures. The group also performed in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. During that time, it was signed with Onyx Records and spent more than a year on Billboard Magazine’s Spiritual Albums chart for their debut self-titled LP. It was later disbanded in the early 1990s.Richard Smallwood’s solo semi-classical number Total Praise earned global recognition after Destiny’s Child recreated a cover in 2007. Another track titled I Love the Lord was the inspiration behind Whitney Houston’s soundtrack for The Preacher’s Wife in 1996.Yolanda Adams and Karen Clark-Sheard also recreated Smallwood’s music. Meanwhile, Richard accompanied opera star Leontyne Price during Ronald Reagan’s White House Christmas party.Besides being a singer and songwriter, Richard was also a composer, music director, pianist, and arranger with a five-decade-long career.His accolades include three Dove Awards, several Stellar Gospel Music Awards, and eight Grammy nominations, with two wins. In fact, he won his first Grammy and a Dove Award for Quincy Jones’ Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. Richard Smallwood was also inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006.During a 2015 interview with The Washington Post, the Healing: Live in Detroit artist said he dedicated his life to “encouraging people through Christ.” He also ran a choir named Vision since the 1990s under the label of Jive/ Verity Records, aka the present-day RCA Inspiration.In his pre-adolescence, the Psalms hitmaker ran a gospel group. Later, when he studied at Howard University, he was also part of their gospel group, The Celestials.Richard was also one of the founding members of the school’s gospel choir and graduated with cum laude in vocal performance and piano. Later, he earned a master’s degree in divinity.Smallwood maintained a low profile for the last ten years of his life. His final album, Anthology, came out in 2015, followed by the 2019 memoir, Total Praise: The Anthology.The gospel industry came together to honor Richard Smallwood on his 75th birthday in 2023 at the First Baptist Church of Highland Park. He called the celebration “one of the most amazing moments” of his life.