Peabo Bryson, the velvet-voiced R&B singer who turned the soul ballad into an art form and lent his voice to two of Disney’s most beloved songs, has died at 75. He passed on June 2 in Marietta, Georgia, days after suffering a stroke.
Born Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, South Carolina, on April 13, 1951, he spent much of his childhood on his grandfather’s farm in nearby Mauldin. His love of music came from his mother, who took the family to see the great Black artists of the day. He made his professional debut at 14, singing backup for a local group, and it was a bandleader’s trouble pronouncing his French West Indian name, Peapo, that led him to perform as Peabo.
His break came at Atlanta’s Bang Records, where a label executive signed him as a writer, producer and arranger. He launched his solo career in 1976 and signed to Capitol the following year, building a run of hits that included “Feel the Fire,” “Reaching for the Sky,” “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again” and “Can You Stop the Rain.”
Bryson became best known as a master of the duet. He recorded the romantic ‘Born to Love’ with Roberta Flack in 1983, partnered with Natalie Cole and Angela Bofill, and joined Regina Belle on several songs over the decades. The biggest moments came through Disney. His “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion won the 1992 Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle, the theme from ‘Aladdin’, won the following year and topped the pop chart, the rare film song to claim Golden Globe, Oscar and Grammy honors.
His career stretched well beyond the studio. He sang a lyrical version of the ‘One Life to Live’ theme on the soap itself in 1985, took the tenor role of Sportin’ Life in a Detroit production of ‘Porgy and Bess’, and kept recording into his seventies, releasing ‘Stand for Love’ in 2018 with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. His final album, ‘Grace’, arrived in 2026.
There were hard chapters too. In 2003, the IRS seized property from his Atlanta home over a tax debt and auctioned his possessions, including both Grammy Awards, though a family friend bought back his “A Whole New World” trophy and vowed to return it. He survived a heart attack in 2019 and made a full recovery, performing for years afterward.
Bryson married singer Tanya Boniface in 2010. He is survived by his wife, a son who occasionally joined him onstage, a daughter, and three grandchildren. Across a career that ran from 1965 to 2026, his warm tenor remained unmistakable, a voice that made millions of listeners feel celebrated, cherished and seen.