Troy Lenard Sneed Jr. (December 14, 1967 – April 27, 2020) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and musician.

Early life

Sneed was born on December 14, 1967, in

Perry, Florida Perry is a city in Taylor County, Florida, United States. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 7,017. It is the county seat. The city was named for Madison Perry, fourth Governor of the State of Florida and a Confed ...

, and played football while in college at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

. He had an injury on the field that put an end to his playing days. He would join the choir at the university, and after graduating he was a teacher at Jax Beach Elementary School in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Milton Biggham, with Savoy Records, asked him to come lead the Georgia Mass Choir, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Georgia, as an assistant music minister.

Music career

Sneed's music career began in 1999, with the release of ''Call Jesus'' on March 23, 1999, by

Malaco Records Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle ...

, but this album would not chart. His subsequent album, ''Bless That Wonderful Name'', was released by Savoy Records in 2001, yet this did not chart. The third album was released by his own record label imprint Emtro Gospel on February 22, 2005, ''A State of Worship'', and it was his breakthrough release on ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart at No. 22. He released, ''In His Presence'', on October 10, 2006 by his label, which charted at No. 44 on the aforementioned chart. His fifth album, ''In Due Season'', was released by his record label on August 25, 2009, however it was not successfully charted. The subsequent album, ''My Heart Says Yes'', released on May 10, 2011 by Emtro Gospel, and this one would peak at No. 5 on the Gospel Albums chart. He released his seventh album on August 7, 2012, ''All Is Well'', and this charted at No. 9 on the aforementioned chart.

Personal life

Sneed married Emily Frances Ianson on July 2, 1993, and together they resided in

, with their children.

Death

Sneed died of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

on April 27, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Florida On March 1, 2020, the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases, in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. On April 1 Governor Ron DeSantis declared a public health emergency. There is evidence, however, that community ...

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneed, Troy 1967 births 2020 deaths African-American male songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Songwriters from Florida Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Perry, Florida Players of American football from Florida Florida A&M Rattlers football players Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) Singers from Florida 20th-century African-American male singers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida 21st-century African-American male singers