Biografia
Known as the ‘King of Balladeers,’ R&B singer-songwriter Peabo Bryson was born in Greenville, SC, where he was raised on a farm and sang in church choirs. At fourteen, he became a backup singer for a local band, Al Freeman and the Upsetters, which he later admitted were quite poor. Two years on, Bryson joined his first professional group, Mose Dillard and the Tex-Town Display, touring the U.S., Caribbean, and Vietnam from 1968 to 1973. The band recorded under the Bang label. Eddie Biscoe, Bang’s CEO, though unimpressed with the band, saw potential in Bryson, encouraging him to write and perform his own songs and signing him to a contract. After moving to Atlanta, Bryson worked as a staff producer and, collaborating with Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston, released his debut album, Peabo, in 1976 on Bang’s Bullet Records subsidiary.
Following several minor hits, Bryson signed with Capitol Records in 1977. His subsequent albums, Reaching for the Sky and Crosswinds, produced chart-topping singles such as "Feel the Fire," "Reaching for the Sky," and "I’m So into You," which reached #2 on the R&B chart. In 1979, he toured and recorded with Natalie Cole, resulting in the album We’re the Best of Friends. Bryson then collaborated with Roberta Flack on a 1980 concert tour and a live album featuring romantic ballads. In 1983, the pair recorded the hit "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," followed by Bryson’s crossover success "If Ever You’re in My Arms Again" in 1984, which peaked at #10 on the pop chart and #6 on R&B. Additional hits included the 1989 chart-topper "Show & Tell" and duets on Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) with Céline Dion on the title track, and Aladdin’s "A Whole New World" (1992) with Regina Belle; both songs won Grammy Awards.
Bryson’s popularity waned in the 1990s, though his contribution to Kenny G’s 1993 album Breathless, the single "By the Time This Night Is Over," contributed to sales exceeding 12 million copies in the U.S. He released several albums between 1994 and 2018, none of which achieved notable commercial success. During this period, Bryson encountered significant financial difficulties, including unpaid taxes to the IRS dating back to 1984, which led to the auctioning of some of his valued possessions, such as his 1992 Grammy, gold records, a grand piano, and the keys to the city of Miami.
In April 2018, Bryson suffered a heart attack but recovered. On May 31, 2026, he experienced a stroke and passed away two days later in Marietta, Georgia, at age 75.
