Greenville city news

Grammy Winner, Greenville Native Peabo Bryson Hospitalized after Stroke

Two-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and Greenville native Peabo Bryson — known worldwide as the voice behind Disney’s Oscar winning songs “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World” — has suffered a stroke and is currently under medical care, according to a statement from his publicity team.

Mayor Knox White said, “The City of Greenville holds Peabo Bryson close to its heart. This is where his life and musical journey began. We wish Peabo a full recovery and look forward to welcoming him home to share his extraordinary talent with the family, friends, and fans in the city that first embraced him.”

Bryson attended the segregated Beck High School and split his childhood between Southernside and a family farm in Mauldin. He began performing at age 14 with Moses Dillard and the Tex Town Display at Mayberry Park.

City Council member Lillian Brock Flemming, who also grew up in Southernside, remembers Bryson from childhood. Her brothers were his playmates, and she recalls him stopping by her house after pickup games of baseball and basketball in the neighborhood. “We knew he could sing,” she said, “but his talent wasn’t fully developed until he started performing with Moses Dillard. Then we knew he was on the road to greatness.”

Peabo Bryson — with state Rep. Chandra Dillard and City Council member Lillian Flemming — returned in 2024 to attend a ceremony marking the completion of a mural in his honor at Unity Park.State Rep. Chandra Dillard, daughter of Moses Dillard, remembers Bryson practicing in the basement of their home and sleeping on their living room couch after late night rehearsals. “There is a picture of me and Peabo on that couch, I was probably 5 years old, I had three pigtails in my hair,” Dillard said. “Peabo was the young one in the group who put up with the little kid. He was my pal.”

Dillard said after the band broke up her father moved to Nashville and Bryson moved to Atlanta, but the two stayed in touch. Moses Dillard, she said, maintained his relationship as a mentor. She said Bryson would return to Greenville to visit his mother and would always stop by to check on her mother as well. “He always remained humble, no fanfare. He didn’t come as superstar Peabo he visited as a friend of the family.” Dillard says she received a call about his medical condition over the weekend and has been thinking about him and his loved ones. “I’m pulling for him, I believe in a higher power.”

Bryson reached new global prominence in the early 1990s after recording theme songs for two Disney films. His duet “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion and “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle from Aladdin earned him two Grammys and two Oscars, securing his place as one of the most celebrated vocalists of his era.

Bryson performed at the Peace Center on May 20, 2023. During the hometown show, Mayor White presented Bryson with a Key to the City. State Senator Karl Allen honored him with a street designation. On September 22, 2024, Bryson returned to Greenville to attend a ceremony marking the completion of a mural in his honor at The Commons in Unity Park.

“Pray for him. He has so much more to do in his life,” said Council member Flemming. “Pray that he can use his arms and legs and God-given voice.”