Singer, songwriter, and R&B musician Don Bryant has died. His passing was announced in a post on his official Instagram account. The post reads:
We want to let all of @don_bryant_official friends and fans from all over the world know that he passed away this morning at the age of 83. Don loved sharing his music and songs with all of you and it gave him such great joy to perform and record new music. He was so appreciative of everyone who was part of his musical journey and who supported him along the way.
Donald Maurice Bryant was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1942. He began singing in church as a child. Bryant began writing songs as a teenager and wrote “I Got To Know” for The 5 Royales in 1960. He continued to write music for other artists at Hi Records, and he also recorded music as a solo artist and with his high school gospel quartet the Four Kings. Bryant is credited with over 150 songs.
In 1970, Bryant began working with singer and songwriter Ann Peebles. He wrote 1971’s “99 Pounds” and 1974’s “Do I Need You.” They wrote their greatest hit “I Can’t Stand The Rain” in 1973, which became a Top 40 hit. They married a year later. He continued to write and perform with Peebles for the following years. He released his final single “Mon Bell-Amour” for Hi in 1981. He released gospel music throughout the ’80s and ’90s, mostly making music .
After some convincing by producer Scott Bomar and former Hi records drummer Howard Grimes, Bryant recorded Don’t Give Up On Love with Memphis-based group the Bo-Keys in late 2016. It was released on Fat Possum in 2017. Bryant and the Bo-Keys released another album in 2020 called You Make Me Feel, which ended up being nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.
Check out some footage of Don Bryant below.
