but the songs live on forever

2025

Christian Gospel Musician Singer Songwriter

Richard Smallwood, Contemporary Gospel Great, Dies at 77

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Photo Credit: Richard Sawyers via Wikimedia

Richard Smallwood, the Grammy-nominated gospel singer, composer, pianist, and choir leader whose music reshaped modern gospel with classical discipline and emotional depth, died on December 30, 2025. He was 77. His death was attributed to complications from kidney failure.

Born in Atlanta on November 30, 1948, and raised in Washington, D.C., Smallwood displayed extraordinary musical ability at an early age, teaching himself piano and organizing his first gospel group while still a child. He later studied music at Howard University, graduating cum laude, and became a founding member of the school’s pioneering gospel ensemble, the Celestials.

In 1977, Smallwood formed the Richard Smallwood Singers, a group that brought refined arrangements, rich harmonies, and spiritual intensity to contemporary gospel. Their 1982 self-titled debut spent an extraordinary 87 weeks on Billboard’s Spiritual Albums chart, establishing Smallwood as one of Gospel’s revered new voices while opening the door to a string of influential recordings throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Smallwood earned eight Grammy nominations over the course of his career and became widely respected for compositions that balanced technical sophistication with congregational power. His 1996 live album Adoration: Live in Atlanta introduced “Total Praise,” a song that became one of the most enduring works in modern gospel, performed by choirs and worship leaders across denominations and continents.

His writing extended beyond the church world. “I Love the Lord” gained international recognition when recorded by Whitney Houston for The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, while other compositions such as “Center of My Joy” became staples for gospel artists and choirs alike. Smallwood’s influence could be heard not only in gospel, but in R&B and pop, where his harmonic language and emotional directness resonated with artists across genres.

In addition to his work as a performer and composer, Smallwood was a mentor and educator, deeply invested in the spiritual and musical development of younger artists. He later earned a master’s degree in divinity, reflecting a lifelong commitment to faith that remained inseparable from his art.

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Easy Listening International Pop Singer

Brigitte Bardot, French Actress and ’60s Pop Singer, Dead at 91

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Brigitte Bardot, the French actress, singer, and cultural icon whose voice helped soundtrack the 1960s, died on December 28, 2025. She was 91.

Born in Paris on Septmber 28, 1934, Bardot became one of the most recognizable figures of postwar Europe, but her impact extended well beyond cinema. As youth culture reshaped France in the late 1950s and early ’60s, Bardot quietly built a parallel career in music, recording dozens of songs that captured the flirtation, freedom, and emotional looseness of the era. Her voice, intimate and conversational rather than traditionally powerful, fit naturally within the emerging yé-yé movement and the broader chanson tradition.

Between the late 1950s and early 1970s, Bardot recorded more than a dozen albums and appeared on countless soundtracks tied to her films. Music was never treated as a side project. It was another outlet for expression, one that mirrored her screen persona while offering a more personal, understated presence. Songs like “Sidonie” revealed a playful vulnerability, while her recordings often leaned into mood and phrasing rather than vocal precision.

Her most enduring musical partnership came through her collaborations with Serge Gainsbourg. Their 1968 duet “Bonnie and Clyde” became a defining moment, merging pop minimalism with cinematic storytelling and solidifying Bardot’s place within France’s modern musical canon. The pairing symbolized a broader cultural shift, blurring the lines between film, fashion, pop, and provocation.

Although her records rarely chased international chart dominance, Bardot’s musical legacy proved influential. Her work resonated with artists drawn to European pop’s understated cool and remains a reference point for musicians exploring intimacy over spectacle. The aesthetic she embodied, equal parts aloof and emotionally open, helped define an era’s sound as much as its look.

In 1973, Bardot stepped away from acting and recording altogether, turning her focus toward animal rights activism and founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.

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R&B Singer Songwriter

Don Bryant, Memphis-Born R&B Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 83

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Photo credit: Matt White via Wikimedia

Don Bryant, the Memphis-born R&B singer and songwriter whose emotionally direct writing and gospel-honed voice helped shape the legacy of Hi Records, died on December 26, 2025. He was 83. Bryant was born on April 4, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Raised in the church, Bryant began singing gospel at an early age, a foundation that would inform the intensity and conviction of his later soul recordings. He emerged in the late 1960s as a solo artist, cutting a series of impassioned singles that blended Southern soul with spiritual urgency. Tracks such as “How Many More Years” and “There’s a Better Day Coming” earned him a devoted following, even if mainstream success remained elusive.

Bryant’s most lasting impact came as a songwriter. As a key contributor to Hi Records, he helped define the label’s understated yet emotionally potent sound. His writing credits include “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” co-written with Bernard Miller and recorded by Bryant’s wife, Ann Peebles, along with “98.6 Degrees (The Shade)” and “You’re What’s Happening (In the World Today).” Working closely with producer Willie Mitchell, Bryant’s songs became central to the Memphis soul canon.

After stepping away from the music industry for several decades to focus on family life, Bryant returned with Don’t Give Up on Love in 2017. The album was widely praised, with critics noting that his voice, though aged, carried even greater emotional depth and authority.

In his later years, Bryant was widely recognized as a revered figure in Southern soul, celebrated for songwriting that valued honesty over flash and feeling over excess. His work continues to resonate through samples, covers, and reissues, reaffirming his place in the lineage of Memphis music.

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Musician New Wave Rock

Perry Bamonte, Guitarist and Keyboardist for the Cure, Dead at 65

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Photo credit: Chris “BuB” Cardi via Wikimedia

Perry Bamonte, the guitarist and keyboardist whose understated musicianship helped shape some of the Cure’s most enduring late-era work, died on December 25, 2025, after a short illness. He was 65.

Born Perry Archangelo Bamonte in London on September 3, 1960, his path into one of alternative music’s most influential bands began behind the scenes. He entered the Cure’s orbit in the mid-’80s as a guitar technician and close collaborator within Robert Smith’s inner circle, earning a reputation for reliability, musical fluency, and a deep understanding of the band’s evolving sound.

In 1990, Bamonte stepped into the lineup as a full member, contributing guitar, keyboards, and additional textures at a pivotal moment in the band’s history. His playing became part of the fabric of albums that followed, including Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, and The Cure. While rarely in the spotlight, his role was essential, adding atmosphere, color, and stability as the band expanded its sonic range through the 1990s and early 2000s.

Onstage, Bamonte was a constant. He performed hundreds of shows during his initial run with the band, helping define the Cure’s live sound for more than a decade. After departing the lineup in 2005, he remained closely connected to the band’s legacy and was included in their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2019, a recognition of his lasting contribution.

Bamonte returned to the Cure in 2022, rejoining the group for the Shows of a Lost World tour. Over the next two years, he appeared on stages around the world, once again anchoring the band’s performances with a calm presence and precise musical touch. His final shows took place in 2024.

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New Wave Radio Record Label

Howie Klein, Influential Sire and Reprise Records Executive, Dies at 77

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Photo credit: Iris Schneider via Wikimedia

Howie Klein, the influential record executive who helped shape punk, new wave, alternative and mainstream rock through his leadership at Sire and Reprise Records, died on December 24, 2025, after a battle with cancer. He was 77.

Born in Brooklyn on February 20, 1948, Klein’s path into music began early and loudly. While attending Stony Brook University in the late 1960s, he booked concerts on campus featuring artists who would soon define a generation, including the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. That early instinct for spotting culture in motion would define the rest of his career.

Klein started out as a rock radio DJ in San Francisco before co-founding the independent label 415 Records in the late 1970s. The label became an important launching pad for emerging punk and new wave artists, including Romeo Void, Translator and Wire Train, and established Klein as a trusted advocate for artists operating outside the mainstream.

In 1987, Klein joined Sire Records, a label long associated with adventurous and genre-shifting artists. Two years later, he was named president of Reprise Records, the storied Warner Bros. imprint founded by Frank Sinatra. During his tenure, Reprise released and supported work from a wide range of influential artists, including Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Lou Reed, Talking Heads and Depeche Mode.

Klein’s years at Reprise coincided with a period when alternative music broke into the mainstream, and he was widely respected for balancing commercial success with artistic integrity. Colleagues and artists alike credited him with trusting musicians’ instincts and allowing careers to unfold rather than forcing quick results.

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