We lost Robert Peabo Bryson in June, 2026. He was 75. His singing style was romantic, delivered with a gleam of charismatic emotion. Peabo's songs lit up the R&B radio air waves, muscling through with some crossover acceptance via his pop collaborations.

Bryson may not have had as many hits as some, but this crooner's 37 R&B chart songs speak for themselves. Two Peabo songs reached #1 on the R&B charts: "Show & Tell" in May, 1989, and "Can You Stop The Rain" in June, 1991.

The Bryson time frame spans 1976 into the 1990s. He was prolific with many collaborations. These seven songs all charted R&B as referenced by Billboard:

• "Do It With Feeling" - Michael Zager's Moon Band featuring Peabo Bryson, 1976
• "What You Won't Do For Love" - Natalie Cole and Peabo Bryson, 1980
• "Make The World Stand Still" - Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, 1980
• "Lovers After All" - Melissa Manchester and Peabo Bryson, 1981
• "Without You" - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle, 1988
• "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" - Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, 1993
• "By The Time This Night Is Over" - Kenny G with Peabo Bryson, 1993

I always laugh that "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme) only reached #21 on Black radio in 1993. Some stations didn't want to play it. Their great loss. This magnificent song reached #1 on the pop charts that year for one week.

Peabo's only #2 R&B chart song, (that didn't reach #1), is featured in the audio below. Of the two songs, which one do you think it is?

Peabo solo

Listen to a couple of samples of "If Ever You're In My Arms Again" and "I'm So Into You." I hope hearing these tracks brings back great memories for you!

We used this Very Best of Peabo Bryson CD, provided to us as a promotion, during our Live365 days. It was a prize for multiple contest winners. See the Peabo Bryson Contest in our archive. The trivia answer is 1978's "I'm So Into You."

I forgot how good Peabo Bryson was. My personal tastes gravitate toward the funkier uptempo groups so I listen to that stuff the most. However, what a pleasure it has been to revisit Mr. Bryson in this remembrance.

Mr. Dexter Wansel

I was also sad to hear of the passing of Philadelphia composer, keyboard guy, producer, and arranger Dexter Wansel. Dexter was also 75. He and Peabo Bryson passed within days of each other.

Wansel was active in music from the 1960s, but he didn't record a breakthrough album until 1976. "Life On Mars" featured Wansel's adventurous keyboards, synthesizer and spirited lead vocals. The Philadelphia native dropped "Life On Mars" on Philadelphia International records (PIR), the home of the O'Jays and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

Dexter had one PIR song on the R&B Billboard charts, "The Sweetest Pain." It reached #40 in 1980.

The 14 inch x 23 inch poster in the photo below is from the only concert I dared to produce and bankroll with my business partner Cleo Rowe. We only broke even, but we learned a lot!

The CD burned below the poster features 12 of my favorite Dexter Wansel tracks from his first two PIR albums shown above.

Dexter Wansel the composer did many soundtracks, including Shaft (2019) the movie, and for the television series, She’s Gotta Have It (2019 – based on the film by Spike Lee). Dexter also gets credit for contributing to the soundtrack for the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

I’ll often see his name for music in the credit roll of other movies not mentioned here. As a solo artist during his mid-career, Dexter featured a mix of jazzy progressive sounds peppered with spirited R&B.

He worked with and featured many of the Philadelphia music scene heavyweights who would co-write songs or sing vocals with him. Jean Carn, Bunny Sigler and drummer Idris Muhammed are just a few featured on his records.

Dexter also made solid contributions to many of the other Philadelphia International artists on their recordings.

Listen to Dexter Wansel's music. "You Can Be What You Wanna Be" is from Life on Mars. "Holdin' On" is from What The World Is Coming To (Jean Carn on background vocals). 

Previous Post