Peabo Bryson, the velvet-voiced balladeer whose duets on “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World” became the soundtrack of a generation’s love stories, died on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at his home in Marietta, Georgia. He was 75.
The two-time Grammy winner died from complications of a stroke he suffered over the weekend, his family confirmed in a statement. His family had announced the stroke on Sunday, May 31, 2026, before sharing news of his death two days later.
“With broken hearts and profound sadness, the family of two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and balladeer, Peabo Bryson, announces his passing,” the family said. “He transitioned peacefully at 5:00 p.m. ET on the evening of Tuesday, June 2, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family and those closest to him.”
For more than five decades, Bryson’s tenor — smooth, unhurried, instantly recognizable — carried listeners through first dances, slow drives and Disney finales. His family described his catalog as the score to “life’s most cherished moments,” a legacy that would “live in the hearts of those who loved him and the countless lives he touched through song.”
A South Carolina Boy With a Voice
Born Robert Peapo “Peabo” Bryson on April 13, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina, he was raised by his mother, Marie Bryson, whose passion for music shaped his earliest years. In a September 2022 interview, he recalled that she “would take me to hear all the giants in music all the time.”
“I saw all the greats, and by the time I was five or six I could sing right along with them,” he said. “When I was that little, I could sing most of their songs, astonishing people in the audience around me who couldn’t believe that music was coming out of a little boy.”
By 14, he was singing backup for a local group called Al Freeman and the Upsetters. In 1968, he joined Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display, touring the Southern “chitlin’ circuit” and sharpening the instrument that would later define a sound. During a recording session at Atlanta’s Bullet/Bang Records, the label’s then-manager, Eddie Biscoe, heard him sing and signed him on the spot.
Bryson released his self-titled debut on Bang Records in 1976. The following year he moved to Capitol Records, and in 1978 his album “Reaching for the Sky” was certified gold — the first of many commercial breakthroughs.
The Duets That Defined an Era
If Bryson had a signature, it was the duet. In 1983, he paired with Roberta Flack on “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” from their second collaboration album, “Born to Love.” The ballad would become a wedding-reception staple and the love theme for “Days of Our Lives” couple Bo Brady and Hope Williams.
Then came Disney. In 1991, Bryson teamed with a then-largely unknown Celine Dion to record “Beauty and the Beast,” a partnership that would earn him his first Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals in 1993. He followed it with “A Whole New World,” recorded with Regina Belle for the 1992 film “Aladdin,” winning the same Grammy again in 1994.
The year 1992 marked a commercial summit few artists ever reach. Bryson appeared on recordings that topped four separate charts: “A Whole New World” led the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts; “The King and I” album sat at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover charts; and Kenny G’s “Breathless,” featuring Bryson on “By the Time the Night Is Over,” topped the Contemporary Jazz charts.
His R&B catalog ran deeper still — “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again,” “Feel the Fire,” “I’m So Into You,” “Can You Stop the Rain” — a string of ballads that defined adult contemporary radio across two decades.
Tributes Pour In From Celine Dion
Celine Dion led tributes after the news broke on Tuesday, sharing a photo with Bryson alongside an emotional message.
“He was so wonderful and generous to me all those years ago, when we recorded Beauty And The Beast,” Dion wrote. “He made me so comfortable, as I was just learning to sing in English. He will remain for me always as a real symbol of joy that music has brought to my life. His voice and talent will be missed.”
Bryson never fully retreated from the stage. In 2019, he performed “A Whole New World” for the finale of the Broadway production of “Aladdin.” He continued to tour into 2025, and one of his final social media posts marked his 75th birthday in April with the caption, “This is 75!!”
He once described himself in expansive terms. “I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do,” he said. “I see myself as a true Renaissance man. I don’t like one-dimensional concepts of myself.”
His family asked for privacy as they grieve “a beloved husband, father, family member, friend and artist whose impact extended far beyond the stage.”