Grammy-Nominated Gospel Singer Richard Smallwood Dead at 77

Richard Smallwood, a singer whose work in the gospel genre brought him several Grammy nominations throughout his life, has died.

The performer died at a nursing center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, on Tuesday. His publicist announced the singer died after suffering complications from kidney failure, The Washington Post reports.

Smallwood was born in Atlanta, and he moved to Washington, D.C. when he was just 10 years old. He founded his first gospel group the following year, and he studied under singer Roberta Flack at Browne Junior High.

He later studied music at Howard University, where he obtained a master’s degree in musicology and piano. He founded the Richard Smallwood Singers in the late 1970s; they received a Grammy nomination for their work on their 1984 album “Psalms.”

Smallwood went on to receive seven more Grammy nominations throughout his life, and his most recent nomination was issued in 2012, when he was up for the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song.

The performer’s songs were covered by numerous artists, including Destiny’s Child, Stevie Wonder, and Whitney Houston, who recorded his anthem “I Love the Lord” for the soundtrack of the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife.”

Smallwood never married or had children. He’s survived by two brothers and three foster sisters.

He was 77 years old.