Robert L. “Peabo” Bryson was born in Greenville in 1951. He made his debut in music at the age of fourteen, singing for Greenville group Al Freeman and The Upsetters. He joined Moses Dillard’s Tex-Town Display a few years after that, establishing his presence in the soul scene on a national level.  He left Dillard’s outfit when executives at Atlanta’s Bang records singled out his talent, distinct from Tex-Town.  Bryson released his self-titled solo album, of mostly his own compositions, on Bang in 1976. It received good regional airplay and sales, and Capitol Records picked Bryson up in 1977. He remained at Capitol until the late 1980’s, releasing several albums on his own and in duet with female vocalists.

It was these duets that established Peabo Bryson as a chart-topping singer.He has sung with many of the biggest names, from across several genres, for enormous international commercial success. From Roberta Flack to Sandi Patty, Celine Dion to Natalie Cole; Bryson’s smooth and precise, yet emotive style, in duet with talented female partners, has proven a reliable dynamic for producing pop hits. 

Apart from the success of his duets, Bryson has recorded 20 solo albums, appeared on stage in Porgy and Bess, The Wiz, and A Raisin In The Sun. His records have topped the pop, jazz, r’ and b’, and even the classical charts. He is the first artist to have records that topped four different charts. He is a Grammy and an Oscar award winner.