Wesley Naylor, 44; Wrote Gospel Musical ‘Mama, I Want to Sing’

Wesley Naylor, 44, a gospel music creator and a composer of the gospel musical “Mama, I Want to Sing,” died Aug. 25 at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. The cause of his death was under investigation, but police had found no evidence of a crime, said his brother Wendell Naylor.

Naylor worked with Vy Higginsen and her husband, Kenneth Wydro, on “Mama, I Want to Sing,” the story of a minister’s daughter who leaves the church to become a singing star. The project became one of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals. Naylor also composed two sequels to the show.

Born into a religious family in Mississippi, Naylor was trained in gospel music at the local church, where his grandfather was the minister. He began playing the piano at the age of 4, and was performing at 12.

Naylor received a scholarship to the North Carolina School for the Performing Arts, and studied piano at the University of Southern Mississippi and Oberlin Conservatory.

In New York, he was the music director of the Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn for nearly 25 years. He also played and arranged gospel music for such performers as Aretha Franklin and Cee Cee Winans.