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Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson (2).jpg
Bryson in 2018
Born
Robert Peapo Bryson

(1951-04-13) April 13, 1951 (age 73)
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • dancer
  • composer
Years active 1965–present
Spouse(s)
Tanya Boniface
​
(m. 2010)​
Children 2
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
Labels

Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (/ˈpiːboʊ/ PEE-boh; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like Love To Me" and "As Long As There's Christmas" with Roberta Flack, "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle, and "Beauty and the Beast" with Canadian singer Celine Dion. Bryson has contributed to two Disney animated feature soundtracks. Bryson is a winner of two Grammy Awards.

Early years

Born as Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, South Carolina, 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 at 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, 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", 1978's "I'm So into You" and "Crosswinds", 1982's "Let the Feeling Flow", 1984's "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" (his first Top 10 pop single, at No. 10 in the US), 1989's "Show and Tell", and the 1991 hit "Can You Stop the Rain". 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 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).

Bryson 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 owe $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.

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.

On September 4, 2016, it was declared "Peabo Bryson Day" in Charleston, South Carolina and North Charleston, South Carolina, during the LowCountryJazzFest. The annual jazzfest is presented by ClosingTheGapInHealthCare.org, founded by Dr. Thaddeus Bell.

In 2018, Bryson released his new album Stand For Love, which was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The project was released on Jam & Lewis' newly reactivated label, Perspective Records.

Legacy

Bryson is renowned for his many duets among his romantic love songs and duets are:

Personal life

Before marrying his present wife, singer and member of English R&B group The 411 Tanya Boniface, Bryson was engaged several times to Juanita Leonard, the former wife of boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. In the 1990s, he became engaged to Angela Thigpen, former Miss Virginia Teen USA and later a model/actress. Bryson and Boniface have a son, Robert, born January 1, 2018.

Bryson also has a daughter, Linda (born c. 1968), from a previous relationship, along with three grandchildren.

Tax problems caught up with Bryson on August 21, 2003, when the U.S. Internal Revenue Service seized property from his Atlanta, Georgia, home. 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.

On April 29, 2019, it was reported that Bryson had suffered a heart attack, and had been taken to Atlanta hospital where he was said to be in a stable condition. He has since made a full recovery.

Discography

Main article: Peabo Bryson discography
Studio albums
  • Peabo (1976)
  • Reaching for the Sky (1977)
  • Crosswinds (1978)
  • Paradise (1980)
  • Turn the Hands of Time (1981)
  • I Am Love (1981)
  • Don't Play with Fire (1982)
  • Straight from the Heart (1984)
  • Take No Prisoners (1985)
  • Quiet Storm (1986)
  • Positive (1988)
  • All My Love (1989)
  • Can You Stop the Rain (1991)
  • Through the Fire (1994)
  • Peace on Earth (1997)
  • Unconditional Love (1999)
  • Missing You (2007)
  • Stand for Love (2018)
Collaboration albums

See also

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