Peabo Bryson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer best known as the voice behind the Disney Classics “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion and “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle, has passed away.
His family released a statement honoring his more than five decades of artistry, noting how his extraordinary voice became the soundtrack to life’s most cherished moments. Bryson’s career trajectory began in South Carolina in the 1970s, when he was part of Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display before launching his solo career. He signed to Bang Records in Atlanta and dropped his first album in 1976, then moved to Capitol Records the following year, where he’d build his reputation as a master of smooth, soulful ballads. Hits like “Feel the Fire” and “Reaching for the Sky” established him as a force in R&B, and by 1984, he scored his first Top 10 pop hit with “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again.”
His duet work became legendary, collaborating with Roberta Flack on “Born to Love” in 1983 and later recording with Angela Bofill and Regina Belle. But Bryson’s influence extended far beyond the R&B charts. He became a household name through Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion and “Whole New World” with Regina Belle, songs that defined a generation’s romantic moments.
Bryson also built a career over five decades as one of R&B’s premier balladeers, recording hits including “Feel the Fire,” “I’m So Into You” and “Can You Stop the Rain.”
“For more than five decades, Peabo’s extraordinary voice served as the soundtrack to some of life’s most cherished moments,” the family’s statement said. “His music carried generations through joyful celebrations, great love stories and enduring moments of comfort and inspiration.”