Peabo Bryson

Biography

Robert Lee "Peabo×Peabo1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Just Another Day3:512Do You Believe In Love2:573Just A Matter Of Time3:384I Can Make It Better5:155You Bring Out The Best In Me4:046Smile5:107Underground Music3:378Lovely Day4:119Let The Music Play3:3010God Is On Our Side4:08" Bryson ( PEE-boh; born Robert Peapo Bryson April 13, 1951 – June 2, 2026) was an American singer and songwriter. After collaborating with singers Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston on his debut album Peabo (1976), he signed to Capitol Records and released the 1978 albums Reaching for the Sky×Reaching for the Sky1977 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Reaching for the Sky4:57A2Feel the Fire5:06A3A Fool Already Knows4:01A4Hold on to the World4:43B1Love From Your Heart5:20B2Love Walked Out on Me5:36B3You Haven't Learned About Love3:33B4Have a Good Time4:39 and Crosswinds×Crosswinds1978 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Crosswinds6:02A2I'm So Into You5:45A3Smile4:45A4She's A Woman5:20B1Point Of View4:40B2Spread Your Wings4:58B3Don't Touch Me4:55B4Love Is Watching You5:05, which were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He later released the collaborative projects We're the Best of Friends (1979) with Natalie Cole and Born to Love (1983) with Roberta Flack, the latter of which included the hit single "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love".
In 1984, he signed to Elektra Records and released the single "If Ever You're in My Arms Again×If Ever You're In My Arms AgainSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1If Ever You're In My Arms Again4:11", which spent several weeks atop the adult contemporary chart. During this period, he earned several top ten albums on the U.S. Billboard R&B albums chart, with Can You Stop the Rain×Can You Stop The Rain4 June 1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lost in the Night4:352Can You Stop the Rain5:353Closer Than Close4:424Shower You With Love5:305I Can't Imagine4:276I Wish You Love5:587You Don't Have to Beg5:418I Wanna Be With You5:439I Just Had to Fall4:4510Soul Provider4:5211If It's Really Love5:27 (1991) topping the chart. Bryson also contributed to several Disney animated feature soundtracks collaborating with Celine Dion on "Beauty and the Beast", and Regina Belle on "A Whole New World", with the latter becoming the first song from an animated feature film to top the Billboard Hot 100. Bryson was a winner of two Grammy Awards, both attributed to his Disney duets.

Early life

Born as Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, South Carolina, on April 13, 1951, he spent much of his childhood on his grandfather's farm in Mauldin, South Carolina. Bryson's love for music stemmed from his mother, who often took the family to concerts of well-known black artists of the time.

Career

Bryson marked his professional debut at the age of 14, singing backup for Al Freeman and the Upsetters, a local Greenville group. It was Freeman's difficulty in pronouncing Bryson's French West-Indian name, Peapo, that led Bryson to perform as Peabo. Two years later, he left home to tour the Chitlin' Circuit with another local band, Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display.
Bryson's first break came during a recording session at Atlanta's Bang Records. Although Bang was not impressed with Dillard's band, the young backup singer caught the ear of the label's general manager, Eddie Biscoe. Biscoe signed Bryson to a contract as a writer, producer, and arranger and encouraged Bryson to perform his own songs. For several years, Bryson worked with hometown bands and wrote and produced for Bang.
In 1976, he launched his own recording career with "Underground Music" on the Bang label. His first album, Peabo×Peabo1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Just Another Day3:512Do You Believe In Love2:573Just A Matter Of Time3:384I Can Make It Better5:155You Bring Out The Best In Me4:046Smile5:107Underground Music3:378Lovely Day4:119Let The Music Play3:3010God Is On Our Side4:08, followed shortly thereafter. Although only a regional success, Bryson signed to Capitol Records in 1977.
Bryson's greatest solo hits include 1977's "Feel the Fire" and "Reaching for the Sky×Reaching for the Sky1977 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Reaching for the Sky4:57A2Feel the Fire5:06A3A Fool Already Knows4:01A4Hold on to the World4:43B1Love From Your Heart5:20B2Love Walked Out on Me5:36B3You Haven't Learned About Love3:33B4Have a Good Time4:39", 1978's "I'm So into You" and "Crosswinds×Crosswinds1978 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Crosswinds6:02A2I'm So Into You5:45A3Smile4:45A4She's A Woman5:20B1Point Of View4:40B2Spread Your Wings4:58B3Don't Touch Me4:55B4Love Is Watching You5:05", 1982's "Let the Feeling Flow", 1984's "If Ever You're in My Arms Again×If Ever You're In My Arms AgainSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1If Ever You're In My Arms Again4:11" (his first Top 10 pop single, at No. 10 in the U.S.), 1989's "Show and Tell", and the 1991 hit "Can You Stop the Rain×Can You Stop The Rain4 June 1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lost in the Night4:352Can You Stop the Rain5:353Closer Than Close4:424Shower You With Love5:305I Can't Imagine4:276I Wish You Love5:587You Don't Have to Beg5:418I Wanna Be With You5:439I Just Had to Fall4:4510Soul Provider4:5211If It's Really Love5:27". In 1985, he appeared on the soap opera One Life to Live to sing a lyrical version of its theme song. Bryson's vocals were added to the regular theme song in 1986 and his voice was heard daily until 1992. He recorded the successful album of romantic love duets with Roberta Flack (Born to Love) in 1983.
In 1988, Bryson recorded the duet "For You and I" with Angela Bofill. In partnership with Regina Belle, Bryson recorded two hit duets: "Without You", the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6, recorded in 1987, and "A Whole New World", the main theme of the Disney's animated feature film Aladdin, recorded in 1992. Bryson and Belle recorded four duets over the years: "Without You" (in 1987), "I Can't Imagine" (in 1991), "A Whole New World" (in 1992), and "Total Praise" (in 2009).
He won two Grammy Awards: in 1992 for his performance of the song "Beauty and the Beast" with Celine Dion and in 1993 for "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle.
In early 1998, Bryson contributed his voice to Barney's Great Adventure: An Original Motion Picture Musical Soundtrack, with the song "Dream (Twinken's Tune)".
Bryson performed in theater and operatic productions, most notably the tenor role of "Sportin' Life" in the Michigan Opera Theater of Detroit's version of Porgy and Bess. His tax problems caught up with him on August 21, 2003, when the U.S. Internal Revenue Service seized property from his home in Atlanta, Georgia. He is reported to have owed $1.2 million in taxes dating back to 1984. The IRS auctioned many of his possessions, including both Grammy Awards, electronic equipment, his grand piano, and multiple pairs of shoes.
However, his Grammy for "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" was purchased by a close friend of the family who vowed to return it to Bryson.

In 2000 he participated in the International competition in the 41th International Festival of the Song of Viña del Mar where he won the international competition representing France, earning the Gaviota (Givet) of Gold in that contest. In 2001 he was invited to the Festival as a judge.
In 2002, Bryson's "Beauty and the Beast" music video was included on the platinum and Blu-ray edition of Beauty and the Beast. His "A Whole New World" music video was included on the platinum edition DVD release of Aladdin. Bryson's CD Missing You was released on October 2, 2007, on Peak Records, a division of Concord Music Group.
September 4, 2016, was declared Peabo Bryson Day in Charleston and North Charleston, South Carolina, during the Lowcountry Jazz Festival.
In 2018, Bryson released his new album Stand for Love×Stand for Love3 August 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1All She Wants to Do Is Me5:242Love Like Yours and Mine3:393Looking for Sade4:434Stand for Love4:125Goosebumps (Never Lie)3:256Exotic4:117Here for You4:168Smile4:579Feel the Fire / I'm So Into You / Tonight I Celebrate My Love (live)5:2510Possible (Still the One)5:2511Sadness4:37, which was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The project was released on Jam & Lewis's newly reactivated label, Perspective Records.

Personal life

Bryson was married in 2010 to Tanya Boniface, a singer and member of English R&B group The 411. On December 31, 2017, they had a son, who would occasionally join his father on stage. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship, along with three grandchildren.
Prior to his marriage, Bryson was engaged several times: first to Juanita Leonard, the former wife of boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, then to Angela Thigpen, a former Miss Virginia Teen USA and later a model and actress.

Health and death

On April 29, 2019, it was reported that Bryson had suffered a heart attack, and had been taken to an Atlanta hospital, where he was said to be in a stable condition. He made a full recovery.
On May 31, 2026, CBS News reported that Bryson had suffered a stroke. He died two days later, on June 2, at a hospital in Marietta, Georgia, at the age of 75.