On April 28, 2020, Troy Sneed (1968–2020), a GRAMMY-nominated gospel singer, died in Jacksonville, Florida, from complications related to COVID-19. Born in Perry, Florida, Troy majored in education and minored in music at Florida A&M University, where he was minister of music for the gospel choir. After graduation, he taught at Jacksonville Beach Elementary School before accepting a position as assistant minister of music for the Georgia Mass Choir where, for a decade, he performed and arranged music on albums. He appeared with the choir in the film The Preacher's Wife (1996), starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. In 1999, he received a GRAMMY Award nomination for the album Higher, produced for Youth for Christ, and also released his first solo gospel album, Call Jesus. In 2003, Troy and his wife, Emily, formed their own recording label, Emtro, through which he released original songs and productions for other artists. In 2007, Troy earned his first solo Top Ten hit on Billboard with the song "Hallelujah" and later would have a dozen songs place on a variety of Billboard gospel charts, including "Work it Out" (2008) and "My Heart Says Yes" (2011). His latest album, All My Best, released in the fall of 2019, features twelve of Troy's gospel radio songs.
