Peabo Bryson, known for his soaring R&B ballads, is “stable” after he “suffered a mild heart attack” on Saturday morning, according to a representative for the two-time Grammy-winner.
In a short statement released on Monday, the rep said Bryson “is currently listed in stable condition and is awake and responsive. Both his medical team and family are optimistic for a speedy recovery.”
During the Seventies and Eighties, Bryson scored 17 Top 20 R&B hits and released three different gold-certified albums. His facility with ballads, in particular, earned him the chance to record theme songs for both Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. But after reaching new audiences with help from Disney in the Nineties, Bryson recorded only one album during the 2000s.
He returned to the studio recently with the legendary songwriting and production duo Jam & Lewis. “I look back at my career and I go, ‘Well, I survived it long enough to achieve some lifetime-achievement awards, but what’s the point in all of that?’” the singer told Rolling Stone. “That kind of indicates that you reached some kind of pinnacle, or that you’re done, and I’m far from any off that.” Stand for Love came out last year.
Despite Bryson’s long absence, his single “Love Like Yours and Mine” became a Top 5 R&B hit. The singer believes the track connected with those listeners who were fed up with modern romance. “We’re getting to the point where our phones are having more of a relationship than we are. In an era where hookups and Tinder are about as good as it’s gonna get, ‘Love Like Yours and Mine’ is gonna stand out like a beacon of hope, isn’t it?”
