BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN PEABO BRYSON A SOUL ARTISTS THE 1970s AND 1980s AN INTERNATIONAL STAR : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                                               BLACK               SOCIAL             HISTOR                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Vocalist Peabo Bryson was among the premier silky-voiced soul artists who emerged as the softer, more sophisticated urban contemporary sound became dominant in the '70s and '80s. Bryson, who was born in Greenville, SC, sang with Al Freeman & the Upsetters in 1965, and was in the group Moses Dillard & the Tex-Town Display from 1968 to 1973. He was a producer and composer for Atlanta's Bang Records in the early '70s, and sang in Michael Zager's Moon Band. His self-titled, debut LP and several singles were recorded for Bang's subsidiary company Bullet, among them "Do It with Feeling," "Underground Music," "It's Just a Matter of Time," "Just Another Day," and "I Can Make It Better." All were moderate R&B hits. Bryson moved to Capitol in 1978, where his first album, Reaching for the Sky, went gold, and the title track was a number six R&B hit. He remained in the Moon Band until 1979, departing after "I'm So Into You" spent two weeks as the nation's number two R&B hit in 1978.

Bryson continued a prolific career, both as lead act and duet participant. He made hit duets with Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Melissa Manchester, and Regina Belle. Bryson recorded for Capitol until 1984, when he switched to Elektra, and enjoyed more success with "If Ever You're in My Arms Again." He moved to Columbia in 1991, issuing Can You Stop the Rain; subsequent efforts included 1994's Through the Fire and 1999's Unconditional Love. He also enjoyed more acclaim making duets with Belle. In 2007, he incorporated the smooth jazz sound into his comeback album Missing You.

Peabo Bryson (born Robert Peapo Bryson, April 13, 1951, given name changed from "Peapo" to Peabo c. 1965) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina. He is well known for singing soft-rock ballads (often as a duo with female singers) and his contribution to several Disney animated feature soundtracks.

As one of the oldest of four siblings, two sisters and a brother, he spent much of his childhood on his grandfather's farm in Mauldin, South Carolina. His love for music stemmed from his mother, who often took the family to concerts of well known African-American artists at the time, such as Sam Cooke, Little Richard and Billie Holiday.]

At age 14, Bryson marked his professional debut singing backup for Al Freeman and the Upsetters, a local Greenville group. It was Freeman's difficulty in pronouncing Bryson's French West Indian name, 'Peapo', that led Bryson to change its spelling to Peabo. Two years later he left home to tour the chitlin' circuit with another local band, Moses Dillard and the Textile Display. Bryson's first break came during a recording session at Atlanta's Bang Records. Although Bang was not impressed with Dillard's band, the young backup singer caught the ear of the label's general manager, Eddie Biscoe. Biscoe signed Bryson to a contract as a writer, producer, and arranger and encouraged Bryson to perform his own songs. For several years Bryson worked with hometown bands and wrote and produced for Bang. In 1976, he launched his own recording career with "Underground Music" on the Bang label. His first album, Peabo, followed shortly there after. Although only a regional success, Bryson signed to Capitol Records in 1977.

Bryson's greatest solo hits include 1977's "Feel the Fire" and "Reaching for the Sky", 1978's "I'm So Into You" and "Crosswinds" 1982's "Let the Feeling Flow", 1984's "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" (his first Top 10 pop single, at #10 in the US), 1989's "Show and Tell", and the 1991 hit "Can You Stop the Rain". In 1985, he appeared on the soap opera One Life to Live to sing a lyrical version of its theme song. Bryson's vocals were added to the regular theme song in 1987 and his voice was heard daily until 1992. He recorded the successful album of romantic love duets with Roberta Flack (Born to Love) in 1983