'Beauty and the Beast' singer Peabo Bryson dead at 75
Peabo Bryson, the R&B singer known for singing soul ballads and two Disney title tracks has died at the age of 75, his family have confirmed.
The artist will be most recognisable to fans for having performed the title track ‘Beauty and the Beast’ alongside Celine Dion on the 1991 Disney animated movie of the same name. He also went on to perform “A Whole New World’ just one year later on the studio’s animated movie Aladdin.
The latter made music history and became the first song from an animated film to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Bryson passed away on Tuesday, just days after suffering a stroke.
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Announcing his death in a statement, his family said: “We are tremendously moved by the outpouring of love, prayers and support from fans, friends, and colleagues around the world.”
“While our hearts are broken, we find comfort in knowing how deeply Peabo was loved and how many lives were touched by his voice and his generous spirit. His legacy and music will live on for generations to come.”
Born Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, S.C. back in 1951, Bryson showed a firm aptitude for music from an early age, even revealing in a 1978 interview with Soul magazine that “As far back as I can remember, I've always been into music.”
“It's all I ever wanted to really deal with, and of course, like everyone else, I had to make that decision — I guess when I was around 14 — as to what I was going to get into, career-wise. Well, I'd thought about being a doctor or something like that, but I really felt that music was my thing.”
While music may have been his passion, his mother was more concerned with the potential pitfalls of fame as he also recalled: “She figured I'd turn into a drug addict or something like that!”
Starting his career as a teenager Bryson rapidly carved a name for himself in the US music scene, however as people seemed to struggle to pronounce his real name of Peapo, he adopted the moniker Peabo instead.
After beginning a career locally, he went on to tour the Chitlin' Circuit with Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display - where a studio heard and fell in love with his sound.
Signed by Bang Records, he released one album, Peabo, with the label in 1976 before moving to Capitol Records.
A string of hits soon followed, including his first Top 10 hit, 1978's ‘Reaching for the Sky,’
By 1980 he was a household name, and began collaborating with musician Roberta Flack on a number of popular tracks including ‘Love Is a Waiting Game,’ ‘You're Lookin' Like Love to Me,’ ‘I Just Came Here to Dance’ and their most successful, ‘Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,’.
Fast forward to the 1990s, and he had already earned himself a place on Disney’s radar, with the animation giant selecting him to pair with newcomer Celine Dion on Beauty and the Beast’s title track.
Their duet became a massive success, reaching No. 9 on the Hot 100 and winning them both a Grammy - and it paved the way to Disney inviting him back to sing the title track for Aladdin, ‘A Whole New World’ the following year alongside Regina Belle.
In total, Bryson released 20 studio albums during his multi-decade spanning career. He was an eight-time Grammy nominee.
Bryson is survived by his wife, Tania Boniface and his two children.
Phoebe Tonks