Peabo Bryson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B and soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer-songwriter, born in Greenville

Greenville, South Carolina

-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. He is well known for singing

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 soft-rock ballads (often as a duo with female singers) and his contribution to several Disney animated feature soundtracks.
As one of the oldest of three siblings, two sisters and a brother, he spent much of his childhood on his grandfather's farm in Mauldin, South Carolina

Mauldin, South Carolina

Mauldin is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 15,224 at the 2000 census. It is a principal city of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. His love for music stemmed from his mother, who often took the family to concerts of well known African-American artists at the time, such as Sam Cooke, Little Richard and Billie Holiday.