Celine Dion Honors Late Duet Partner Peabo Bryson

The Greenville, South Carolina-born musical artist was best known for a pair of classic 90s Disney duet ballads: Beauty and the Beast with Dion; and , A Whole New World with Regina Belle. 

Bryson was a two-time  Award winner, having taken the honors for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1992 and 1994 for his work on the aforementioned tracks.

Other notable tracks from the vocalist include 1997's As Long as There's Christmas with the late Roberta Flack; 1993's By the Time This Night Is Over with Kenny G and 1987's Without You with Belle.

The singer-songwriter began rising in the music business in the 1970s with the group Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display.

He inked a deal with the Atlanta-based Bang Records to begin performing as a solo artist with his self-titled debut effort Peabo.

By 1977, he began releasing records for Capitol Records, with his album Reaching for the Sky.

Among his hit tracks in the R&B genre include the 1978 singles Feel the Fire, Reaching for the Sky, I'm So into You and 1979's Crosswinds.

Speaking in 1978 to Soul magazine, Bryson said that he had 'always been into music' as far back as he could remember.

'It's all I ever wanted to really deal with, and of course, like everyone else, I had to make that decision - I guess when I was around 14 - as to what I was going to get into, career-wise,' Bryson said at the time. 

He added: 'I'd thought about being a doctor or something like that, but I really felt that music was my thing.'

The mid-1980s brought further professional success for the singer, as his 1984 song If Ever You're in My Arms Again made Billboard's top 10. 

After a cameo on the soap opera One Life to Live in 1985, Bryson recorded a version of the show's theme that was used until 1992.

Other notable tracks in the singer's catalog, in which he released 20 studio albums, include 1979's Gimme Some Time, 1980's What You Won't Do for Love and 1991's Can You Stop the Rain.

Bryson spoke with the CBC in 2017 about his collaboration with Dion, for the .

He said that Dion was initially standoffish, but eventually relaxed and delivered a stirring performance in the session recording the award-winning ballad.

'I looked across at her, and she looked back at me and what went on from the point of becoming relaxed was extremely intimate,' Bryson said.

He added, 'You can't buy that. You can record it, though.'

Bryson explained that both he and Dion had to acclimate themselves in performing the title track from the Disney franchise.

'When you're a great singer like [Dion,] oftentimes you find yourself in situations where you have to dial back,' Bryson said. 

He added, 'I learned that from doing duets. The key to it is to play to your duet partner's strength and weaknesses equally.

'So essentially that renders into a situation where there are no weaknesses because you're playing to them both equally.'

Bryson added of the signature track, 'I never ever got tired of listening to it.'

Bryson's family said the late artist's 'extraordinary voice served as the soundtrack to some of life’s most cherished moments.' 

His 'music carried generations through joyful celebrations, great love stories and enduring moments of comfort and inspiration,' his family said. 

Bryson, speaking with Parlé Mag last fall, opened up about his mindset as he marked 50 years in the music industry, which he said crept up on him.

'You don’t think of it in terms of time when you’re in it,' Bryson said. 'You’re doing it when it’s happening. You just do what your inherent nature tells you to do. I chose this job, this profession.'

Bryson said he pursued a life as a performer after watching 'artists who look like me in the height of segregation transcend racism, politics, religion, and every other social malaise this country was suffering at that time.'

The singer said that musicians in that time 'galvanized people' as they 'had everybody standing, saying the same thing, giving each other the same message, not worrying about who’s what and where’s what.

'It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. And it’s what I now do – it’s my goal. Every time I go on stage to recreate that one moment, to fellowship with everyone who has showed up in that arena, every single night.'

Amid news of his passing, a number of Bryson's fans took to X to pay tribute to the revered late musical artist.

'Peabo Bryson was an all-time great vocalist,' said one user. 'Rest in perfect peace, and thanks for sharing your gift.'

Another added: 'Rest in power, Peabo. Your voice gave us “A Whole New World” and that timeless Beauty & the Beast magic. Legend forever.'

A fan described Bryson as 'one of the great male vocalists' while another remarked, 'Mr. Bryson’s gonna be missed terribly.'

Bryson is survived by his wife and children. Bryson's family said that a celebration of life ceremony, and memorial arrangements, will be announced at a later date.