Peabo Bryson, an R&B singer known for his sultry voice and legendary duets, died on June 2 in Marietta, Georgia. The crooner suffered a stroke two days earlier. His family announced the passing of the 75-year-old Grammy Award-winner, which said in part:
“With broken hearts and profound sadness, the family of two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and balladeer, Peabo Bryson, announces his passing,” the statement reads in part. “He transitioned peacefully at 5:00 p.m. ET on the evening of Tuesday, June 2, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family and those closest to him.
For more than five decades, Peabo’s extraordinary voice served as the soundtrack to some of life’s most cherished moments. His music carried generations through joyful celebrations, great love stories, and enduring moments of comfort and inspiration, creating a legacy that will forever live in the hearts of those who loved him and the countless lives he touched through song.”
A Young Talent
The New York Times noted that he was born Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, South Carolina, to Telford Copeland and Marie Bryson. His mother and maternal grandparents raised him. His childhood was spent in the Southernside area and on the family farm in Maudlin, SC. Bryson graduated from a segregated Beck High School.
His mother was instrumental in exposing him to music, taking him to concerts of people like Little Richard and Sam Cooke. He told The Philadelphia Tribune in 2022. “When I was that little, I could sing most of their songs, astonishing people in the audience around me who couldn’t believe that music was coming out of a little boy.”
He won his first talent show at age 12 and began singing backup with a local band called Al Freeman and the Upsetters. By the time the singer was a teenager, he was on tour with a band called Dillard and the Tex-Town Display, led by his musical mentor, Moses Dillard. It was his mentor who began calling him Peabo because he couldn’t pronounce his middle name.
His First Record Deals
Bryson’s work with his musical mentor and his band led to him being scouted as a solo artist. He was initially signed to the indie Atlanta label Bang Records and released his first album in 1976. The following year, he signed with Capitol Records. One of his earliest hits was “Feel the Fire” in 1977, but that was only the beginning.
From the late 1970s through the early 2000s, Bryson’s music topped several of the Billboard charts. Twelve of them on the Hot 100 List, 41 songs on the Hot R&B Hip-Hop Songs. Two of those, “Show & Tell,” and “Can You Stop the Rain,” and 21 entries on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with seven of those in the top ten, and “Can You Stop the Rain taking a top spot.
His Legendary Collaborations
Besides Bryson’s chart-topping solo success, his work with female singers was particularly memorable. He recorded an album with Natalie Cole in the late 1970s, and “Lovers After All,” with Melissa Manchester. He also recorded an album with Roberta Flack that yielded the hit “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love.”
But for many, it was his voice on Disney soundtracks that solidified his fame. His duet with a young Celine Dion on the title track of “Beauty and the Beast” in 1992. His collaboration with Regina Belle on the theme from “Aladdin, “A Whole New World,” followed the next year. Those duets got Bryson his two Grammys. Both were for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1993 and 1994.
Bryson’s distinctive vocal style and decades of hits kept him touring up until his untimely passing.
He is survived by his wife, Tanya Boniface Bryson; their son, Robert, known as Kit; a daughter from a previous relationship, Linda Bryson; and three grandchildren. Our condolences go out to his family.
