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Biography
BLP sources|date=July 2008Infobox musical artist|image =|name = Peabo Bryson|background = solo_singer|birth_name = Robert Peapo Bryson|birth_date = birth date and age|1951|4|13|origin = Greenville, South Carolina , United States |genre = R& B , Soul music|soul , adult contemporary , soft rock |occupation = Singer-songwriter, record producer, keyboardist, dancer, composer|years_active = 1976& ndash;present|website = Official website| http://peabobryson.net|label = Bullet Records|Bullet / Bang Records|Bang (1975-1976) Capitol Records|Capitol (1977-1983, 1989) Elektra Records|Elektra (1984-1988) Columbia Records|Columbia (1990-1995) Private Music (1996-2000) Peak Records|Peak / Concord Music Group|Concord (2007-present) Peabo Bryson (born Robert Peapo Bryson , April 13, 1951, given name changed from "Robert" to Peabo c. 1965) is an United States|American R& B and Soul music|soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina|Greenville , South Carolina . He is well known for singing soft-rock ballads (often as a duo with female singers) and his contribution to several Disney animated feature soundtracks.
Career
As one of the oldest of three siblings, two sisters and a brother, he 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 at the time, such as Sam Cooke , Little Richard and Billie Holiday .Citation needed|date=May 2012 At age 14, Bryson marked his professional debut 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 the chitlin' circuit with another local band, Moses Dillard and the Textile 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.Citation needed|date=May 2012 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.cite web|url= http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001221/Peabo-Bryson.html |title=Peabo Bryson Biography |publisher=Musicianguide.com |date= |accessdate=2012-05-05
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 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.cite book |chapter=Ask Us |title= Soap Opera Digest |pages=105–106 |date=June 2, 2009|volume=34|number=22) 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 duets with Roberta Flack ( Born to Love ) in 1983.
" Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|Beauty and the Beast ", with Celine Dion|Céline Dion
"Light The World", with Deborah Gibson
"The Gift", with Roberta Flack
"I Can't Imagine", with Regina Belle
" A Whole New World ( Aladdin s Theme)", with Regina Belle
" Tonight I Celebrate My Love ", with Roberta Flack
"The Best Part", with Nadia Gifford
"Lovers After All", with Melissa Manchester
"You Are My Home" (from The Scarlet Pimpernel ) with Linda Eder
" By the Time This Night Is Over " with Kenny G
"Without You", with Kumi Koda
"As Long As There's Christmas", with Roberta Flack
"Beauty and the Beast", with Minako Honda
" I Have Dreamed (song)|I Have Dreamed " (from The King And I ) with Lea Salonga
"Make It Til Tomorrow," with Sandi Patty
Bryson won a Grammy Award in 1992 for his performance of the song " Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|Beauty and the Beast " with Céline Dion and another in 1993 for "A Whole New World" (Aladdin's Theme) with Regina Belle.
Bryson performed in theatrical|theater and opera tic 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 Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta , Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia , home. He is reported to owe $1.2 million in taxes dating back to 1984. The IRS auctioned much of his possessions, including both Grammy Awards, electronic equipment and his grand piano.cite news |last=Plunkett |first=John |url= http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_2_105/ai_112411507 |title=Peabo Bryson's Grammys, other possessions, auctioned to pay $1.2 million tax debt |work=Jet Magazine|date=2004-01-12 |accessdate=2007-03-07
In 2002, Bryson's "Beauty and the Beast" music video was included on the platinum and Blu-ray edition of Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast . His "A Whole New World" music video was included on the platinum edition DVD release of Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin . Bryson's CD, Missing You , was released on October 2, 2007 on Peak Records, a division of Concord Music Group.
He is briefly mentioned by Nicki Minaj in David Guetta 's 2011 hit " Where Them Girls At ".
Personal life
Bryson has a daughter named Linda. http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/bryson-peabo-biography Peabo Bryson Biography @enotes.com Accessed 7-24-2010.
He has been engaged several times to Juanita Leonard, who was previously married to the boxing|boxer , Sugar Ray Leonard . He also became engaged to Angela Thigpen, former Miss Virginia Teen USA and later a model/actress, in the 1990s.Harper, Jane. "Whatever Happened To..." The Virginian-Pilot ( Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk , Virginia|VA ) Sept. 28, 1998. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68451213.html? key=01-42160D517E1E1C6D160B001E052256213F4A374C1820234C3E0E0A60641A617F127119731B7B1D27 Link to article Retrieved 7-24-2010.
http://www.wlatalent.com/roster/peabo_bryson/artistprofile.htm Peabo Bryson at http://www.wlatalent.com Wenig-LaMonica Associates
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Peabo%20Bryson.html Fan Page
Persondata | NAME =Bryson, Peabo | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =April 13, 1951 | PLACE OF BIRTH =Greenville, South Carolina | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Bryson, Peabo Category:1951 births Category:African American singers Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American keyboardists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Greenville, South Carolina category:Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductees
