R&B/gospel singer David Peaston has died at the young age of 54. Peaston died on Wednesday after a long battle with diabetes which he said the sickness was from his own fault.

Peaston’s longtime battle with diabetes led to the amputation of both his legs, beginning with his right leg in 2004. During an interview with the Post-Dispatch in 2004, he said he was initially angry with himself over his illness.

“I didn’t want to be back in the public. I wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed, but I felt I let myself down and, therefore, I let everyone else down. It was my fault for being sick, and I didn’t want anybody to see me like that.”

Peaston’s friend, singer Cheryl Pepsii Riley, has taken to her Facebook to express her grief over the loss. “I’m so saddened by the news, my friend David Peaston has passed,” she wrote. “This hurts so much. He had an Incredible Voice and the Best sense of Humor! David Peaston and I were the only secular artists doin Gospel plays in the beginning.”

“David Peaston and I were, in the beginning, the only secular artists doing Gospel traveling plays. Back then there were just about 4 shows out so they stayed out a long time. I met David doing the show “Momma Don’t”. We ended up doing several shows together after that and were official Road Dawgs!

I Soooooooooo Loved this Man with the Hearty Laugh, Great Sense of Humor, That Incredible Voice, and He was The Most Amazing Friend!!! This hurts so much. He had a Gift that commanded the Room. David will be sorely missed. My Condolences go out to His Beautiful Wife and Children and All the Many Friends and Fans His Presence has Touched and Blessed.”

Peaston won a Soul Train Music Award in 1990 for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. He’s mostly known for the singles, “Two Wrongs (Don’t Make it Right)” and “Can I?”

In the late 1980s, the St. Louis native and former schoolteacher, won several competitions on Showtime at the Apollo. He managed to woo the audience with a powerful rendition of “God Bless the Child.”

Peaston is the brother of “Rescue Me” singer Fontella Bass. His mother, Martha Bass, was a member of the Clara Ward singers

Here he is singing “God Bless The Child” lawwwd he crushed this song especially at the end of the song!

Peaston was diagnosed with diabetes and had both legs amputated. Let’s keep his fam in our prayers.

Two Wrongs Don’t Make It Right