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Peabo Bryson, a silky-smooth singer whose lengthy r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of chart-topping soul records, many of them duets with renowned female singers, earned him the nickname the Voice of Love, along with two Grammys for the Disney movie hits \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d and \u201cA Whole New World,\u201d died on Tuesday in Marietta, Ga. He was 75.<\/p>\n
His family confirmed the death, at a hospital, from complications of a stroke. Mr. Bryson lived in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeabo,\u201d his first album, was released in 1976, when funk and disco ruled the airwaves. But four of its sensual ballads \u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s Just a Matter of Time,\u201d \u201cUnderground Music,\u201d \u201cJust Another Day\u201d and \u201cI Can Make It Better\u201d \u2014 reached the top 30 on the U.S. soul charts, establishing him as an heir to his idols Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole.<\/p>\n
Mr. Bryson went on to dominate the soul and R&B charts for nearly two decades. His songs dealt with complex relationships and passionate love, themes that spoke to the adult contemporary listeners who made up the core of his fan base.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cRelationships are a vast thing,\u201d he told The Chicago Tribune in 1986. \u201cThey\u2019re like people: Everyone is different. So I write about them as I see them, and as I have experienced them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Through the 1980s, he developed a reputation as a reliable duet partner, paired with powerful female singers like Regina Belle, Roberta Flack<\/a> and Natalie Cole<\/a>, Mr. Cole\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, I Celebrate My Love,\u201d a duet with Ms. Flack, reached No. 4 on Billboard\u2019s U.S. adult contemporary chart in 1983, his first of many songs to crack the top 20. The next year, he reached No. 1 on the same chart with a solo effort, \u201cIf Ever You\u2019re in My Arms Again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But it was in the early 1990s that Mr. Bryson had his biggest hits. Sung with Celine Dion, \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d (1991), his platinum-selling version of the theme song from the Disney animated film of the same name, was nominated for best song and best record at the Grammys and won the award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He repeated the feat a year later, winning the same award for his version of \u201cA Whole New World,\u201d the theme from the Disney movie \u201cAladdin,\u201d performed with Regina Belle. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, knocking off Whitney Houston\u2019s \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d after a 14-week run.<\/p>\n Both tracks also won best song awards at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, though those awards went to the songs\u2019 writers.<\/p>\n Mr. Bryson repeatedly resisted pressure from record labels and other musicians to embrace a more contemporary pop, rock or hip-hop style, insisting that he had to stay true to his roots, even if it meant passing up bigger paychecks.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to make music without giving up who I am,\u201d he told The New Pittsburgh Courier in 1992, \u201cnot for any pop dream or for any promise of greater success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Robert Peapo Bryson was born on April 13, 1951, in Greenville, S.C. His father, Telford Copeland, was rarely present, and he was raised mostly by his mother, Marie Bryson, and his maternal grandparents on their farm in nearby Mauldin, S.C.<\/p>\n