Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Peabo Bryson was a famous singer. He sang songs in Disney movies. He died on June 2, 2026. He was 75 years old.
He sang Beauty and the Beast with Celine Dion. He also sang A Whole New World with Regina Belle. Both songs are very famous.
He won two Grammy Awards. A Grammy is a big prize for music. Many people all over the world loved his music.
- singer
- a person who sings music
- famous
- known and liked by many people
- died
- stopped living
- Grammy
- a big prize given for music
- movie
- a film you watch on a screen
- song
- music with words that people sing
- award
- a prize for doing something well
- fans
- people who love a singer or performer very much
Level 2 - Elementary
Peabo Bryson, one of the most recognized voices in R&B and pop music, passed away on June 2, 2026 in Marietta, Georgia, after suffering a stroke. He was 75 years old. Bryson had been active in the music industry for more than five decades.
Bryson became internationally famous for his duet recordings on Disney animated film soundtracks. He won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo for Beauty and the Beast with Celine Dion from the 1991 film, and won again the following year for A Whole New World with Regina Belle from the 1992 film Aladdin.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1951, Bryson released more than 20 albums throughout his career. He is remembered for other classic songs such as Tonight I Celebrate My Love with Roberta Flack and If Ever You're in My Arms Again. He is survived by his wife Tanya, two children, and three grandchildren.
- R&B
- Rhythm and Blues, a style of popular music known for strong beats and emotional singing
- duet
- a musical performance by two singers or musicians together
- decade
- a period of ten years
- Grammy Award
- one of the most important prizes in the music industry
- animated
- made using drawings or computer images that appear to move
- survived by
- a phrase meaning a person left behind living family members when they died
- soundtrack
- the music recorded for a movie or television show
- recognized
- widely known and identified by many people
Level 3 - Intermediate
Peabo Bryson, whose powerful tenor voice became synonymous with some of the most emotionally resonant moments in 1990s popular music and cinema, died on June 2, 2026 in Marietta, Georgia, three days after suffering a stroke. His death was announced by a family representative who described his final hours as peaceful, surrounded by loved ones. Bryson was 75.
Though Bryson had enjoyed a successful R&B career since the mid-1970s, it was his collaborations with animated Disney films that cemented his status as a global icon. His recording of Beauty and the Beast alongside Celine Dion earned him his first Grammy in 1993 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. He won again the following year for A Whole New World, performed with Regina Belle for the 1992 animated film Aladdin.
Born Robert Peapo Bryson on April 13, 1951 in Greenville, South Carolina, he built a catalog of over 20 albums and became equally celebrated for his adult contemporary hits. Tracks such as Tonight I Celebrate My Love, recorded with Roberta Flack, and If Ever You're in My Arms Again became fixtures of 1980s and 1990s radio. He is survived by his wife Tanya Bonaface Bryson, their children Robert and Linda, and three grandchildren.
- tenor
- a high male singing voice, often associated with warmth and emotional expressiveness
- synonymous
- so closely associated with something that the two are considered equivalent
- R&B
- Rhythm and Blues, a genre combining soul, funk, and gospel influences for a wide pop audience
- catalog
- the complete body of recorded work created by an artist over their career
- contemporary
- belonging to the same period of time; in music, targeting adult listeners with melodic pop
- cemented
- firmly and permanently established a position or reputation
- icon
- a person who is widely admired as a symbol of a particular quality or era
- posthumous
- occurring or appearing after a person's death
Level 4 - Advanced
Peabo Bryson, the Greenville, South Carolina-born tenor who became one of the defining voices of 1980s and 1990s adult R&B and whose two Grammy-winning Disney collaborations recast the animated musical as a vehicle for mainstream pop crossover, died June 2, 2026, from complications of a stroke in Marietta, Georgia. He was 75. A representative for the Bryson family described his final moments as peaceful, with his wife Tanya Bonaface Bryson and immediate family present.
Born Robert Peapo Bryson on April 13, 1951, he began his professional career touring with Moses Dillard's revue before signing with Capitol Records in 1977. His 20-plus-album catalog drew from the full spectrum of Black popular music tradition, from deep-soul ballads to smooth jazz-inflected crossover, but it was his two Disney soundtrack pairings that secured his cultural permanence. The Alan Menken-Howard Ashman-penned title track from Beauty and the Beast (1991), recorded in duet with Celine Dion, earned Bryson the 1993 Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The following year he reprised that triumph with A Whole New World, recorded alongside Regina Belle for Alan Menken and Tim Rice's Aladdin (1992).
Both songs achieved a rare kind of permanence in the popular imagination, becoming touchstones for multiple generations and demonstrating that animated film scores could function as competitive mainstream pop artifacts. Music critics credited Bryson with a quality often described as blameless warmth, an ability to inhabit emotionally charged material without tipping into sentimentality. Beyond the Disney work, his duets with Roberta Flack, particularly Tonight I Celebrate My Love, and his solo ballad If Ever You're in My Arms Again stand as exemplary documents of the post-disco adult contemporary moment. He is survived by his wife, children Robert and Linda, and three grandchildren.
- tenor
- the highest natural adult male voice, prized for clarity and emotional directness in ballad performance
- crossover
- music or an artist that successfully bridges multiple genres or audience demographics
- permanence
- the quality of lasting or remaining unchanged and culturally relevant indefinitely
- revue
- a theatrical entertainment featuring a series of short musical and comedic acts, common in mid-20th-century touring circuits
- touchstone
- a standard or widely recognized cultural reference point by which others are judged or measured
- sentimentality
- an excess of tender or emotional feeling that exceeds what the situation genuinely warrants
- adult contemporary
- a radio format and musical genre centered on melodic pop and R&B aimed primarily at adult listeners
- exemplary
- serving as an outstanding model worthy of emulation; of exceptional quality and representative value
