Paul Peterson
Paul Peterson | |
---|---|
Birth name | Paul Joseph Peterson |
Also known as | St. Paul Peterson |
Born |
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | October 18, 1964
Genres | Rock, pop, R&B, soul, funk, funk rock, funk metal, new wave, dance |
Occupation(s) | Singer, multi-instrumentalist |
Instruments | Multi-instrumentalist |
Years active | 1983–present |
Labels |
Paisley Park/Warner Bros. Records Atlantic Records Ropeadope/Sony RED |
Associated acts |
The Time The Family Prince The Steve Miller Band Kenny Loggins Oleta Adams fDeluxe |
Website | Official website |
Paul Peterson (born October 18, 1964), also known as St. Paul Peterson, is a musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time.[1]
Life and career
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Peterson was the youngest son in a musical family. He was discovered by Prince in 1983 and groomed to replace Monte Moir as keyboardist of R&B band The Time. Peterson gained exposure when the band appeared in the hit movie Purple Rain.
When The Time broke up in 1984, Prince gathered the remnants to form The Family, with Peterson as lead singer. The group's tenure was brief, performing live only once (at First Avenue, where Purple Rain was filmed). Peterson left to pursue a solo career, releasing his eponymous debut album in 1987. Peterson released two singles, "Intimacy" and "Rich Man" from the album, as well as a video for the latter one. Prince wrote a song about Peterson's early jump from The Family ship called "Dream Factory", which was later released on 1998's Crystal Ball compilation. Peterson released two solo albums in the 1990s on Atlantic Records and a live recording with the group the Minneapolis All-Stars.
Peterson also toured as a member of the Steve Miller Band in the late 1980s and early 90s.
Peterson is also a session musician and has backed up many acts in concert. He has toured with Kenny Loggins, and Oleta Adams. From 1998–2000 he was the bassist in the house band on the Donny & Marie TV program. His last solo album, Everything, was released in 2004. Peterson is married and has two children, and resides in the Minneapolis area.
Peterson produced two songs and co-produced two more songs on Oleta Adams' 2009 album, Let's Stay Here. He also played on the album, which was released April 21, 2009.
In June 2011, Peterson and three other members of The Family reunited as fDeluxe and released a record called Gaslight in September 2011. Since then fDeluxe has released RELIT, and most recently "AM Static," a collection of covers done in the classic fDeluxe style.
Peterson was the Program Chair for the Audio and Recording arts at Minneapolis Media Institute until leaving in June 2016 to tour with Peter Frampton as a bass player.
Discography
- Ice Cream Castle — with The Time (1984)
- The Family — with The Family (1985)
- St. Paul (1987)
- Down to the Wire (1990)
- Blue Cadillac (1996)
- A Child Is Born — with The Petersons (1997)
- Live at the Quest — with the Minneapolis Allstars (1998)
- My Calendar — with Jeanne Arland Peterson (2000)
- A Compilation — with The Peterson Family (2003)
- Everything (2004)
- Let's Stay Here — with Oleta Adams (2009) (session musician, producer and coproducer, US touring band)
- Gaslight — with fDeluxe (2011)
- "You Got What You Wanted" - with fDeluxe (2012)
- "Relit" with fDeluxe (2012)
- "AM Static with fDeluxe (2014)
References
- ↑ Henderson, Alex. "The Family". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 August 2011.