Peabo Bryson is a singer, songwriter, and actor from the United States. He is a two-time Grammy winner for “Best New Artist” and “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.” His first solo album was entitled simply Peabo, with the later ones called The Real Thing (1979) and I’m So Happy (1986).
In addition, he also acted in films including A Soldier’s Story, Trading Places, Coming To America, and Ghost Dad. After his career in music slowed down he continued acting but now concentrates more on voice-over work.
Peabo currently lives in Atlanta Georgia with his wife of over 30 years Debra Pugh where they are both active members of their church community.
Let’s understand more about this legendary vocalist.
What is Peabo Bryson known for?
Born Robert Peapo Bryson on 13 April 1951, Peabo Bryson is an American R&B singer and musician who first achieved success in the late 70s. He is also a two-time Grammy Award-winner with multiple Grammy nominations.
He currently holds the record for most consecutive years on the chart of any artist with a Top 40 Hot 100 hit and has had 18 hits reach Billboard’s Top Ten.
He became known as one of the biggest soul icons during his time at Capitol Records, where he recorded nine albums in ten years, achieving five number 1 R&B albums.
His name was even mentioned when Nelson George included the top 50 most innovative black artists from 1967-1987 in his book The Death of Rhythm & Blues.
It is, therefore, no surprise that he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by BET to celebrate 30 years in music. A definite milestone in music history.
How did Peabo Bryson become famous?
Peabo Bryson first became famous when his voice was heard by Stevie Wonder who suggested him for the role of Paul after performing in The Wiz.
He also sang “Living For The City” for the same film. His first hit was released a few years earlier in 1978 when he sang “Feel The Fire” for his album of the same name.
He also sang “Crosswinds” and “Reaching For The Sky” with Teddy Pendergrass and helped contribute to Chaka Khan’s song “I Feel For You” which was a huge hit in 1984.
He then went on to release an album called Bryson’s Songbook which featured duets with Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, and Quincy Jones. It peaked at number 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart and number 31 on its Top 200 albums chart, giving Bryson his first solo number 1 album as a solo artist.
However, it has been claimed that Bryson does not even know how to read sheet music so this is a big achievement indeed.
What future plans does Peabo Bryson have?
It appears that he has no intention of retiring as a move to Broadway and an upcoming tour suggests otherwise.
However, should this not be enough for him, he also wants to star in another movie as well as finding time to start a family with his wife Tamiko Jones whom he married back in 1984.
You may have seen her with him when they appeared together on That’s So Raven or perhaps you saw her co-hosting a show with Debra Wilson called Talk Show Confidential.
It remains to see where his career will take him next but there is no doubt that he will continue making music for many years to come.
What are Peabo Bryson’s biggest songs?
Peabo Bryson has a number of hit singles but perhaps his best known is the single “A Whole New World” which he recorded for Disney’s animated film Aladdin.
The Aladdin’s theme song peaked at number 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and won him an Oscar in 1993 for Best Original Song along with co-writer, Alan Menken.
What is Peabo Bryson’s net worth?
Peabo Bryson’s net worth is $5 million.
What is Peabo Bryson doing now?
He continues to act and do voice-over work but now does more of the latter. In 2011 he was a cast member of season 2 of Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne, playing Reverend Curtis Scott, a Priest who is good friends with one of the main characters Layla (LaVan Davis).
Past voice-over roles have included work on TV shows The Proud Family (where he voiced Calvary Lion), Comic Book: The Movie, and the video game Grand Theft Auto IV where he played Stevie (the host at Tangiers nightclub). He also appears in commercials for products like Kraft cheese and McDonald’s.
Other than his acting(voice)work, he is an active member of his church community in Atlanta Georgia.
What nationality is Peabo Bryson?
He is African-American. He was born on 2 March 1947 in Iowa, USA.
What language does Peabo Bryson speak?
He speaks English and Spanish fluently.
What is Peabo Bryson’s music style?
He is a Soul / R&B singer and he often sings contemporary jazz.
What awards has Peabo Bryson won?
He has won Gold and Platinum records for his albums, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance from the Grammys in 1985 and 1994, he received an Oscar for “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (1992), and he also won a Grammy Award for “Best R&B Song” with co-writer Alan Menken.
He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2008 and BET Award in 2010.
Which female singers sang with Peabo Bryson?
Bryson sang duets with Roberta Flack (“Feel The Fire”), Chaka Khan (“I Feel For You”), Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, and Heather Headley.
He also sang “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle for Disney’s 1992 animated feature film Aladdin’s ending credits and is still best known for this song.
With Celine Dion, they sang “Beauty and the Beast” and it is said the song helped put him on the international map.
Is “A Whole New World” his pop hit?
Yes. It is his only number-one pop hit to date in the US (and made him arguably the most successful singer never to have a number one or Top 40 Pop single after Upstairs At Eric’s star Rick Astley, who he dueted with on “A Whole New World”) and it serves as the theme song for Disney’s 1992 animated feature film Aladdin.
The song also reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in 1993 following its use in an ITV advertising campaign for British Telecom.
Does he sing R&B?
Yes, especially in his early career. Many of his popular hits are R&B and jazz music including “Could You Be Loved” from the album Rise (1986), “A Whole New World”, “I Just Came To Get My Baby” with Roberta Flack, and other more recent tunes like 1994’s “Down Don’t Bother Me”.
What are some of his adult contemporary charts?
Peabo Bryson has charted on the Adult Contemporary chart in three decades.
The 1980s – four songs: “Let’s Be Friends” (1983), “Can You Stop The Rain” (1984), “Miracles Happen” (1985), and “Best Of Times” (1986).
The 1990s – Six songs: 1991’s “(Another Day, Another) Miracle”, 1992’s “Till We Two Are One”, 1993’s “I Know Love”, 1996’s “Can’t Go On Living Without You”, 1998’s, and 1999’s “A Whole New World”.
What are some of his classical crossover album charts?
Peabo Bryson has charted on the classical crossover charts in three decades.
The 1980s – two songs: “You’re Not Easy To Forget” (1983) and “Superstar” (1985).
The 1990s – four songs: “I Just Came to Get My Baby”, 1992’s Classical Brit Award winner for Best Selling Album, 1993’s “Rise Up”, 1994’s “Classics In The Key Of Love”, and 1998’s Grammy-nominated album A New Day Has Come.
Does Peabo Bryson have children?
Yes, he does – he has 2 children with his wife Debra Pugh: a daughter Sabrina born in 1976 and a son Paris born in 1985.
How did Peabo Bryson meet his wife?
They met in church when he was 18 and she 16. They married when Peabo was 20 and Debra 18.
When was Peabo Bryson in the military?
Peabo Bryson seems to have served as an enlisted man from 1967-1969 based on this summary of his service record on the US Army website. It’s not clear which branch of the military he joined but I assume it was the army though there are indications that it might also have been the navy too! He trained at Fort Jackson and did duty for 2 years in Germany before being discharged in 1969. His decorations during this time include: Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal amongst others.