Actress and former Howard University Dean Phylicia Rashad with Richard Smallwood at a 2024 Howard University tribute. The two were classmates in the early 1970s.Photo courtesy of Howard University.
Born in Atlanta and raised in the D.C. area, Smallwood's musical origins trace back to his stepfather's founding and pastorship of Union Temple Baptist Church in the district's southeast quadrant during the 1950s. He began to play piano by ear at age five, started formal music training by seven, and formed his first gospel choir by 11. Howard alumna Roberta Flack, who would become a musical genius in her own right, was Smallwood's eighth-grade music instructor at the former Hugh M. Browne Junior High School.
Smallwood's time at Howard University proved transformative, both for his own artistic development and for the institution's musical legacy. As an undergraduate, Smallwood joined the university's first gospel group, The Celestials, before becoming a founding member of the Howard University Gospel Choir, an ensemble that would go on to influence generations of gospel musicians and cement Howard's position as a crucible for sacred music excellence. He graduated cum laude in 1971 with dual degrees in classical vocal performance and piano, studying alongside future legends including Donny Hathaway and actresses Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad.
"Howard University birthed one of the best and brightest of HBCUs," said Reverend Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, reflecting on Smallwood's early beginnings and the institution's role in shaping his artistry.
The rigorous classical training Smallwood received at Howard became the foundation for his revolutionary approach to gospel music. The university's emphasis on excellence and innovation encouraged him to push the boundaries of traditional gospel while maintaining its spiritual core. This unique blend—classical sophistication married to gospel fervor—would become Smallwood's signature sound.
Newly emboldened by his Howard education and experiences, Smallwood sought to contemporize the staid mores of gospel music on a broader scale. As music director of Union Temple's Young Adult Choir, Smallwood recorded and released his first two studio albums, 1974's "Look Up and Live" and 1976's "Give Us Peace." Inspired by mentor, friend, and fellow music legend Edwin Hawkins, Smallwood formed the Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977.
Their eponymous debut was released in 1982 and spent 87 weeks on Billboard magazine's Top Gospel Albums chart; their second album, 1984's "Psalms," topped the chart and earned Smallwood his first Grammy Award nomination. The Richard Smallwood Singers would record seven albums before disbanding, recording their finale live at Howard University in April 1993—a homecoming that underscored the enduring bond between the artist and his alma mater.
