Peabo Bryson, Vocal and Smooth jazz Artist

This singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and two time Grammy Awards winner has serenaded lovers around the world and kept them spellbound with (soul and adult contemporary) romantic ballads for over four decades.  He is one of the most engaging romantic balladeers, whose smooth stylish vocals will last a lifetime.

His body of work includes collaboration/duets with female artists such as Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Minnie Riperton, Regina Bell, Melissa Manchester, Celine Dion, Linda Eder and Deborah Gibson.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, USA

Genre: R&B, soul, soft rock, Adult Contemporary

Peabo Bryson had two sisters and a brother and spent much of his childhood on his grandfather’s farm in Mauldin, South Carolina.  His love for music stemmed from his mother, who often took the family to concerts of well-known African-American artists.

Bryson made his professional debut at age 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 change its spelling to Peabo.  Two years later, he left home to tour 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.

His 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 #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 1987 and his voice was heard daily until 1992.

He recorded the successful album of romantic love duets (Born to Love) with Roberta Flack 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).

 Biographical information courtesy of Wikipedia; for more reading see link below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peabo_Bryson