The City of Greenville shared via social media Grammy-winning singer and Greenville native Peabo Bryson is recovering after suffering a stroke, and is currently under medical care, according to his publicity team. Bryson is best known for the Disney hits “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World.” Greenville Mayor Knox White says the city holds Bryson close to its heart and is wishing him a full recovery.
Singer-Songwriter Peabo Bryson with City of Greenville Mayor Know WhiteCity of Greenville
The legendary vocalist, who began performing in Greenville as a teenager, was honored with a Key to the City in 2023 and attended the unveiling of a mural in his honor last year at Unity Park.
Downtown mural of Peabo BrysonCity of Greenville
City of Greenville Social Media post:
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 issued by 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 Councilwoman 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.”
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." Bryson performed at the Peace Center on May 20, 2023. During the hometown show, Mayor White presented Bryson with a Key to the City. 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.
