by Chris Rizik
(June 2, 2026) He possessed the purest of voices. A deep, rich baritone that showed a unique versatility, but which found its sweetest of spots on soulful love songs.
Tonight we are devasted to pass on the news that legendary soul balladeer Peabo Bryson died today at 5:00 pm, just days after suffering a stroke. He was 75. Bryson had previously suffered a heart attack in 2019 from which he fully recovered.
The statement from Bryson’s family said he was, at the time of his death, “surrounded by the love of his family and those closest to him.” It further read, “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.”
2026 had been a year of celebration for Bryson, as he was on the tail end of “Golden Touch” tour, commemorating 50 years in music, and was preparing for an upcoming album Jam and Lewis-produced album called Grace.
For me this passing particularly hurts. Peabo was one of the first artists I ever interviewed, when I was a 19 year old college student student writing for The State News at Michigan State University. He was kind and patient in dealing with a young writer who was clearly learning how to interview a star, and I will always be grateful.
The South Carolina born singer created an amazingly long-lasting career. While in his early 20s he worked with producer Michael Zager’s band (“Let’s All Chant”) and recorded as a solo artist while writing with other artists at Bang/Bullet Records such as Paul Davis. His 1976 Bullet Records debut, Peabo, was a moderate success and contained one notable song, “Just Another Day” (which bore great resemblance to the Spinners’ “How Could I Let You Get Away”).
It was his next album, Reaching for the Sky (and its oft-covered hit, “Feel The Fire”), that took Peabo to the top of the male R&B vocalist class. His follow up, 1978’s Crosswinds, solidified that position and gave him his biggest hit to date, “I’m So Into You.” In both albums he demonstrated himself as a smooth soul balladeer and a solid writer, with his rich baritone wrapping itself around mostly “quiet storm” material. 1979 brought a very good duet album with Natalie Cole, the first of several duet partners with whom he would work, and a moderate hit, “Gimme Some Time.” He followed two years later with his first real solo crossover success, I Am Love, and the hit “Let the Feeling Flow.”
Peabo blew the roof off 1983 on a duet album with Roberta Flack, the pure adult contemporary Tonight I Celebrate My Love, yielding four hits and moving him to a leading role in the AC market. However, this crossover success came at a price, as the increasingly adult pop sound of his records (especially the singles) threatened his longtime soul music base. This continued with his next album, Straight From the Heart (his first on Elektra Records), a crossover smash that included the number one pop song of the year, Michael Masser’s “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again.”
He continued to release albums prolifically for a few more years, but found limited success on both the R&B and pop charts. Then his career found an unexpected boost: In 1991 he released the single “Can You Stop the Rain,” one of the most compelling songs of his career and his first #1 R&B hit in several years. It anchored a solid album of the same name. He then hit the top of the pop charts twice on themes from two consecutive Disney animated smashes, “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion and “A Whole New World” (from Aladdin), with Regina Belle.
While the big hits slowed down in the new century, Peabo Bryson continued to record and tour regularly. He scored a surprise hit in 2018 year working with Jam & Lewis on the album Stand For Love, which boasted the urban adult contemporary #1 “Love Like Yours and Mine.”
It would be tough to find a male artist who straddled as many fences throughout his career as Peabo Bryson — from R&B to pop to smooth jazz to theater — while always maintaining a consistent identity as a gentle, romantic balladeer. He undoubtedly possessed one of the greatest voices of his generation and continuously made even less than stellar material rise to a higher level. And in the process he deservedly accumulated millions of fans around the world.
Source: soultracks.com