Sunday’s anthem, “Total Praise,” was written and recorded in 1996 by Richard Smallwood. In addition to hearing it at church, this week, you might also have heard covers of this popular song by artists such as Destiny’s Child (as part of “Gospel Medley,” released on several albums), The Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir (with Smallwood on piano, at Aretha Franklin’s funeral) and Stevie Wonder (at Dexter Scott King’s
memorial service).
Smallwood is a composer, arranger, pianist and general all-round music industry force. He directed his own gospel group at age 11 and was the organist at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church at age 14. Whilst attending Howard University (Washington, D.C.), he joined the university’s first gospel group, The Celestials, and was a member of the university’s first gospel choir. In 1968, the Howard Gospel Choir was, apparently, the first collegiate choir of its kind in the world. Howard was founded in 1867 (with a specific focus on “the education of black clergymen”) and
now offers around 120 different programmes of study; Kamala Harris (49th vice president of the United States) and Chadwick Boseman (actor in the soap opera, All My Children, and the Marvel movie, Black Panther) are alumni you might recognise. I wonder how it was 100 years before a gospel choir was formed on campus!
The 1982 album, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel chart. His next two albums were also great successes, and he worked on the Grammy-winning project, Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. In 2006, Smallwood was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In addition to releasing recordings with his current group, Vision, he had time to return to Howard to complete a master’s degree in Divinity, in 2006 (to add to his Bachelor of Music in piano and voice and his Masters in piano and ethnomusicology). His first composition, “The Lord’s Prayer” (1971), was debuted at Howard University, and he credits the university for developing his talent as a composer and performer.
About “Total Praise,” Smallwood relates that he was feeling down, caring for his mother (who had dementia), a friend with cancer and his foster brother, when he decided to write a song asking for God’s help. Instead, God gave him inspiration to write a praise song:
You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to You.
Primarily based upon Psalm 121 but also including references to Psalms 59 and 63 and Mark 4:39, Smallwood also worked to make the musical line match the lyrics. The hymn has become popular enough that a hymnal released in 2011 takes its title for the entire collection, as well.
For more:
An essay about “Total Praise” and Richard Smallwood
The accompanying image is from the Wikipedia article about Richard Smallwood
A YouTube playlist of recordings of Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration: