Richard Smallwood

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Richard Smallwood
Background information
Origin Atlanta, Georgia USA
Genre(s) gospel music
Occupation(s) composer, director, pianist, arranger
Instrument(s) piano
Years active 1975-present
Label(s) Onyx Records, Sparrow, Word, Capitol, Jive, Verity
Associated
acts		 The Richard Smallwood Singers
Members
Vision

Richard Smallwood is an American gospel music artist from Atlanta, Georgia who formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977.

Contents

[edit] Biography

World-class composer, pianist and arranger, Richard Smallwood has clearly and solidly changed the face of Gospel music. He can impeccably blend classical movements with Traditional Gospel, and arrive at a mix that is invariably Smallwood's alone. A diverse and innovative artist, Richard Smallwood has achieved many honors; Dove Awards, Stellar Awards and a Grammy also attest to his talents.

Richard graduated Cum Laude from renowned Howard University with degrees in both Vocal Performance and Piano, in addition to graduate work in the field of Ethnomusicology. His musical gifts were stirred up early in life. At age five, he was playing the piano by ear; at seven, began formal training; and at eleven, formed his first Gospel group. Richard Smallwood is attributed with many gospel "firsts." He was a member of the first Gospel group on Howard University's campus, The Celestials. They were also the first Gospel group to appear at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival. In addition, Richard was one of the founding members of Howard's first Gospel choir, and The Richard Smallwood Singers were the first black Gospel group to go to the Soviet Union.

Richard Smallwood has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution as a "gospel innovator and songwriter," and his hometown, Washington, DC, heralded two separate occasions as "Richard Smallwood Day," also distinguishing him with the Mayoral Art Award for "precision and excellence in artistic discipline." Smallwood's gift has made room for him to minister to presidents and dignitaries all over the world as well as home at most of DC's halls of fame, such as, Constitution Hall, the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center and the White House. Touching all areas of the arts, Richard and his singers toured with the theatrical musical, "Sing Mahalia Sing," based on the life of Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson and starring Jennifer Holiday, which segued into a guest appearance on television's "Ryan's Hope" for ABC. He received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Howard University in 1997.

Richard began his recording career in 1982 with an album simply titled, "The Richard Smallwood Singers." The debut project spent 87 weeks on Billboard's Gospel chart. The next project, "Psalms" received a Grammy nomination. Two years later, another nomination for "Textures," the album that contained the classic, "Center Of My Joy" penned by Richard Smallwood along with Bill and Gloria Gaither. Smallwood continued to amass successive Grammy nominations with all of the following projects: "Vision," "Portrait," "Testimony" and "Live at Howard University." Richard continued to climb to the pinnacle of success, receiving a Grammy Award and Dove Award for his production on the Quincy Jones Gospel project, "Handel's Soulful Messiah."

Richard's music has never been confined to anyone artistic genre. His song, "I Love The Lord" crossed onto the big screen when Whitney Houston sang it in the film, "The Preacher's Wife." The same song was also used in the tune, "Dear God" by R&B artists; Boyz II Men on their CD entitled "Evolution." His music has also been recorded by artists such as Destiny's Child, Yolanda Adams and Karen Clark-Sheard. He has even accompanied legendary opera diva Leontyne Price as a part of the White House Christmas celebration during the Reagan administration.

Richard, with his current group Vision, an ensemble of multitalented ministers of music from the DC area, has recorded four projects for Verity records: "Adoration," which contains the mega-hit, "Total Praise," a Christmas project "Rejoice," "Healing: Live in Detroit," and the latest entitled "Persuaded: Live in DC," which was also nominated for a Grammy and won multiple Stellar Awards.

Richard was licensed to preach the Word of God in 2003. In May of 2004, he completed work on his Masters Of Divinity at Howard University's prestigious School of Divinity and graduated with honors. He was ordained in June of 2004. In June of 2005, he and Vision shared the stage with legend Aretha Franklin for three nights at Madison Square Garden for the McDonalds gospel fest to rave reviews and critical acclaim. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Music from the Richmond Virginia Seminary in May of 2006.

His upcoming project, "Journey: Live in New York," is one of the most highly-anticipated projects in the music industry. It will feature legends such as Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Kim Burrell, Kelly Price, The Hawkins Family featuring Edwin, Walter, Tramaine and Lynette, Classical singer Janice Chandler-Eteme, the Original Smallwood Singers and Vision all performing Smallwood music, new and old. On November 14, 2006, Richard had the distinguished honor of being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Richard serves as a minister and Artist-in-Residence at his home church, Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC, where his pastor is Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

with Richard Smallwood Singers:

  • Richard Smallwood Singers (Onyx/Benson Records, 1982)
  • Psalms (Onyx/Benson Records, 1984)
  • Textures (Word, 1986)
  • Vision (Word, 1988)
  • Portrait (Word, 1990)
  • Testimony (Sparrow, 1992)
  • Live at Howard University (Sparrow, 1993)

with Vision:

  • Adoration: Live in Atlanta (Verity, 1996)
  • Rejoice (Christmas Project) (Verity, 1997)
  • Healing: Live in Detroit (Verity, 1999)
  • Persuaded: Live in D.C. (Verity, 2001)
  • Journey: Live in New York (Verity, 2007)

[edit] Compilations

  • Gospel Greats (Benson, 1994)
  • Memorable Moments (Sparrow, 1999)
  • Praise & Worship Songs of Richard Smallwood With Vision (Verity, 2003)

[edit] Awards

  • Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
  • Received Howard University Distinguished Achievement Award.

[edit] Grammy & Stellar Nominations

  • 1984: Grammy Award Best Soul Gospel Performance, Duo or Group - Richard Smallwood Singers: "Psalms"
  • 1988: Grammy Award Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male - Richard Smallwood: "You Did It All"
  • 1990: Grammy Award Best Soul Gospel Performance, Album-Richard Smallwood Singers: "Portrait'
  • 1991: Grammy Award Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Performance, Album-Richard Smallwood Singers: "Testimony"
  • 1993: Grammy Award Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Perfomance, Album-Richard Smallwood Singers: "Live"
  • 2001: Grammy Award Best Traditional Soul Gospel Performance, Album-Richard Smallwood with Vision: "Persuaded: Live in DC"
  • 2001: NAACP Image Award for Best Gospel Artist, Traditional - Persuaded: Live in D.C.
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Artist Of The Year - Persuaded, Live in DC; Verity
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Song Of The Year - "My Everything (Praise Waiteth)"; Verity
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Choir Of The Year - Persuaded, Live in DC
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Producer Of The Year - Persuaded, Live in DC
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Male Vocalist Of The Year - Persuaded, Live in DC
  • 2003: Stellar Award for CD Of The Year - Persuaded, Live in DC
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year - Persuaded, Live in DC
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Music Video of the Year - Persuaded, Live in DC

[edit] Stellar Award Wins

  • 2000: Stellar Award for Choir of the Year - Healing – Live in Detroit [1]
  • 2000: Stellar Award for Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year - Healing – Live in Detroit [1]
  • 2000: Stellar Award for Traditional Choir of the Year - Healing – Live in Detroit [1]
  • 2003: Stellar Award for Choir of the Year - Healing – Live in Detroit [2]

[edit] Trivia

  • Whitney Houston covered Smallwood's "I Love The Lord", penned in 1975 for the movie soundtrack to The Preacher's Wife.[3] The same song was also used in R&B quartet Boyz II Men's "Dear God" on their 1997 album Evolution.
  • Opera luminary Kathleen Battle was also to participate in the concert for Journey: Live In New York, but was unable to due to illness.[4]
  • Richard Smallwood's ALL-TIME favorite artist is Aretha Franklin
  • Richard Smallwood collects Thomas Blackshear Figurines
  • Angela Winbush, of the famous R&B duo, Renee and Angela, was an original member of the Richard Smallwood Singers.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c 15th Annual Stellar Award Results. GospelFlava.com.
  2. ^ 18th Annual Stellar Award Results. GospelFlava.com.
  3. ^ Clark, Melanie (October 2001). An interview with Richard Smallwood on the state of gospel music today. GospelFlava.com.
  4. ^

[edit] External link

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/i/c/Richard_Smallwood_f7b8.html"