Peabo Bryson

Peabo Bryson (2016)

Robert Peabo Bryson (born April 13, 1951 in Greenville , South Carolina ) is an American soul singer. Ballads in particular are part of his specialty. From the late 1970s he became known for duets with singers such as Natalie Cole , Roberta Flack and Melissa Manchester . These successes were surpassed by the world hits Beauty and the Beast (1991, with Celine Dion ) and A Whole New World (1992, with Regina Belle ), both of which come from Walt Disney cartoons and each brought Bryson a Grammy .

Career

Bryson first sang in the Michael Zager Band in the 1970s and made his breakthrough as an R&B singer in the USA with his second solo album at the end of the decade. The album Reaching for the Sky (1977) as well as the successor Crosswinds (1978) were awarded gold for 500,000 copies sold. A year later, the album We're the Best of Friends with Natalie Cole was created . He landed his first worldwide hit in 1983 in a duet with Roberta Flack : Tonight I Celebrate My Love reached number 2 in the UK charts . In the USA he achieved a top 10 success in 1984 with the solo recording If Ever You're in My Arms Again . He also enjoyed great success in the 1990s. In 1991 he was number 1 on the American R&B charts with Can You Stop the Rain . The album of the same name received a gold award in the USA.

In the same year he sang the theme song for the Walt Disney film Beauty and the Beast with Celine Dion and made it into the top 10 of the US charts again . The song won an Oscar (Academy Award Winner: Best Original Soundtrack) and two Grammys . A year later he sang the Disney song A Whole New World from the movie Aladdin with Regina Belle . The song won three Grammys , including one for Song of the Year. It was also Bryson's only number one hit on the US pop charts.
In 1993 he reached number 25 on the US charts together with Kenny G and the song By the Time This Night Is Over . The song stayed in the top 40 for seven weeks.

Bryson's success waned in the mid-1990s. In 2003, it hit the headlines for tax debts of $ 1.2 million. At a major auction, his Grammys, gold awards and other valuable possessions were auctioned off to pay off the debt. In 2007 the album Missing You was released . His last album to date, Stand For Love, was released in 2018.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1977	Reaching for the sky	-	-	US49 gold (29 weeks)US	First published: 1977
1978	Crosswinds	-	-	US35 gold (26 weeks)US	First published: November 1978
1980	Paradise	-	-	US79 (16 weeks) US	First published: April 1980
1981	Turn the hands of time	-	-	US82 (11 weeks) US	First published: February 1981
	I am love	-	-	US40 (24 weeks) US	First published: November 1981
1982	Don't play with fire	-	-	US55 (21 weeks) US	First published: November 1982
1984	Straight from the heart	-	-	US44 (28 weeks) US	First published: May 1984
1985	Take No Prisoners	-	-	US102 (13 weeks) US	First published: June 1985
1988	Positive	-	-	US157 (6 weeks) US	First published: January 1988
1991	Can you stop the rain	-	-	US88 gold (19 weeks)US	First published: June 1991

more publishments

• 1976: Peabo
• 1986: Quiet Storm
• 1989: All My Love
• 1994: Through the Fire
• 1996: It's Christmas!
• 1997: Peace on Earth
• 1998: Really Love
• 1999: Unconditional Love
• 2005: Christmas with You
• 2007: Missing You
• 2018: Stand For Love

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1984	The Peabo Bryson Collection	-	-	US168 (10 weeks) US	First published: June 1984

more publishments

• 2000: great hits
• 2001: Anthology
• 2006: The Very Best of Peabo Bryson

Collaborations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1979	We're the best of friends	-	-	US44 (19 weeks) US	First published: November 1979 with Natalie Cole
1980	Live & More	-	-	US52 (19 weeks) US	Initial release: November 1980 with Roberta Flack , recorded at Holiday Star Theater in Merrillville ( Indiana )
1983	Born to Love	-	UK15th silver (10 weeks)UK	US25th gold (42 weeks)US	First published: July 22, 1983 with Roberta Flack

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1981	Let the Feeling Flow I Am Love	-	-	US42 (12 weeks) US	First published: December 1981
1983	Tonight, I Celebrate My Love Born to Love	-	UK2 silver (14 weeks)UK	US16 (29 weeks) US	First publication: July 1983 with Roberta Flack
	Heaven Above Me Born to Love	-	UK84 (2 weeks) UK	-	First publication: October 1983 with Roberta Flack
	You're Lookin 'Like Love to Me Born to Love	-	-	US58 (11 weeks) US	First published: December 1983 with Roberta Flack
1984	If Ever You're in My Arms Again Straight from the Heart	-	-	US10 (25 weeks) US	First published: May 1984
	Slow dancin ' straight from the heart	-	-	US82 (4 weeks) US	First published: September 1984
1985	Take No Prisoners (In the Game of Love) Take No Prisoners	-	-	US78 (6 weeks) US	First published: June 1985
1987	Without You Positive / All by Myself	-	UK85 (2 weeks) UK	US89 (3 weeks) US	First published: December 1987 with Regina Belle
1991	Can You Stop the Rain Can You Stop the Rain	-	-	US52 (15 weeks) US	First published: June 1991
1992	A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme) Aladdin (OST)	DE70 (6 weeks) DE	UK12 (12 weeks) UK	US1 gold (23 weeks)US	First published: November 5, 1992 with Regina Belle

As a guest musician

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1976	Do it with feeling	-	-	US94 (3 weeks) US	First published: March 1976 Michael Zager featuring Peabo Bryson
1981	Lovers After All For the Working Girl	-	-	US54 (9 weeks) US	First published: February 1981 Melissa Manchester featuring Peabo Bryson
1991	Beauty and the Beast Celine Dion	-	UK9 (7 weeks) UK	US9 gold (20 weeks)US	First published: November 16, 1991 Celine Dion featuring Peabo Bryson
1993	By the Time This Night Is Over Breathless	-	UK56 (3 weeks) UK	US25 (20 weeks) US	First published: May 1993 Kenny G featuring Peabo Bryson

swell

1. ^ The Awards Insider, Los Angeles Times
2. ^ ^{A b} RIAA Gold Awards
3. ↑ Tonight I Celebrate My Love in the UK charts
4. ^ "Peabo Bryson's Grammys, other possessions, auctioned to pay $ 1.2 million tax debt," Jet Magazine, Jan. 12, 2004, p. 47
5. ↑ Comeback album from 2007, Allmusic.com
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK1 UK2 US
7. ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
8. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US UK
9. ↑ Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson in the UK charts
10. ↑ Kenny G & Peabo Bryson in the UK charts

Web links

• Agency website by Peabo Bryson
• Peabo Bryson at Allmusic (English)
• Peabo Bryson at Discogs (English)
• Peabo Bryson in the Internet Movie Database (English)