Who Was Peabo Bryson? 9 Songs We Know By Heart

The world lost one of the most beautiful voices it has ever been given on Tuesday (June 2). Peabo Bryson’s — the two-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer and balladeer — voice served as the soundtrack to some of the most cherished moments in Black love, family, and memory. Learn about his life, legacy and the songs fans know by heart. 

Bryson passed away peacefully at 5:00 p.m. ET, surrounded by his family in Marietta, Georgia, at 75 years old. His family confirmed the news in a statement that captured exactly who he was to the people who loved him. 

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“For more than five decades, Peabo’s extraordinary voice served as the soundtrack to some of life’s most cherished moments,” the statement read. “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.” 

As the New York Times reported in their tribute to his life and career, Peabo was born Robert Peabo Bryson on April 13, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina. His love for music began with his mother — Marie Bryson — who had a passionate love of music and would take him to hear all the greats. “

I saw all the greats, and by the time I was five or six, I could sing right along with them,” he once recalled. He carried that gift for the rest of his life and gave it back to the world in ways most artists never get the opportunity to. 

He launched his professional music career right after high school, touring with Moses Dillard in the late 1960s before releasing his first album, Peabo, in 1976 and signing with Capitol Records the following year. What followed was one of the most distinctive careers in the history of R&B, built on a voice that could move you to tears in the first measure of a song without ever straining to do it. Throughout his entire career, Bryson released a total of 20 studio albums and became the undisputed king of the romantic duet — a genre he did not just participate in but defined. 

Most people know him through his Disney work, and rightfully so. His voice is literally woven into childhood memories, first dances and wedding ceremonies across multiple generations. He joined Celine Dion for “Beauty and the Beast” — the title song from Disney’s 1991 animated feature — and Regina Belle for “A Whole New World” from the 1992 film Aladdin. Both of which won Grammy Awards and became two of the most recognized songs in popular music history. Those songs lived inside people’s lives and kept living there long after they stopped being played on the radio. 

But reducing Bryson to his Disney catalog would be a disservice to a man who was making music that mattered long before he stepped into a studio with Dion. His solo work and his R&B duets are filled with songs that Black households have been playing for fifty years and that still sound as warm and as relevant as the day they were recorded.

He told Rolling Stone in 2018, “If I were to tell you the emotions I feel most every day: gratitude for one, humility for another, and validation. Not how you think, but validation in the faith that I’ve kept in myself and those around me, and the person that I’ve managed to maintain myself to be. I’m really happy about that. I like me. And I like that I don’t feel the need to chronicle my accolades to anyone, shout them out to anybody. But, if someone were to stop and do the research, there’s nobody like me.” There was nobody like him and there will not be another one. 

Bryson is survived by his wife — Tanya Boniface Bryson — whom he married in 2010, and their son Robert, whom the couple welcomed in 2018. He is also survived by a catalog of songs that belong to all of us and will keep belonging to us for as long as people fall in love, slow dance at receptions and need a voice that sounds like it was built specifically to help them feel something true. 

Rest in peace, Peabo Bryson. The voice was yours and the music is felt by all of us. Scroll on for Peabo Bryson songs you know by heart.

Peabo Bryson: The Songs You Know By Heart

1. “Beauty and the Beast” (with Celine Dion, 1991)

The Grammy-winning title song from Disney’s beloved animated classic, which became one of the most-played songs at weddings for an entire generation. The moment those opening notes played, you already knew where you were going emotionally.

2. “A Whole New World” (with Regina Belle, 1992)

Another Grammy winner, another Disney masterpiece and the song that proved Peabo Bryson’s voice could make even a magic carpet ride feel like the most romantic thing that had ever happened.

3. “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” (with Roberta Flack, 1983)

The duet that introduced a generation to what it sounded like when two voices chose each other completely. This song has been playing at dinners, in cars and through kitchen speakers in Black homes since the year it dropped.

4. “Can You Stop the Rain” (1991)

His most successful solo hit was a song that demonstrated he did not need a partner to move you. That opening line alone is enough to make time stop.

5. “Feel the Fire” (1977)

The record that started everything and gave the world its first real introduction to what Peabo Bryson was capable of. The smooth confidence in his voice on this track at 26 years old was already the sound of an artist who knew exactly what he was doing.

6. “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again” (1984)

A song built entirely for the people who understand that love does not always get it right on the first try. One of his most underrated solo performances and one of the most emotionally precise recordings of his entire career.

7. “What You Won’t Do For Love” (with Natalie Cole, 1994)

The pairing of Peabo Bryson and Natalie Cole was a gift the R&B world did not fully appreciate enough while it was happening. This song is proof of what was possible when two generational voices decided to share the same space.

8. “Reaching for the Sky” (1977)

His Capitol Records debut single and the song that told the industry exactly who had just arrived. The ambition in this record is not just musical. It is personal and it is unmistakable.

9. “Let the Feeling Flow” (1981)

A deep cut for the devoted fans that showcases the full range of what Peabo Bryson could do when the ballad gave way to something with a little more energy behind it. If you have not heard this one, start now.

What’s your favorite Peabo Bryson song? Comment below.

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