Lucky
Peterson is the most dangerous triple threat working in the blues. He has
gained a reputation as one of the most preeminent performers of the modern era
as a searing lead guitarist, fantastic organist, and first-rate vocalist. His
many talents are truly mind-boggling.
Peterson
has blazed the blues trail since he was a little kid. At the young age of five
he had a hit single in 1969 with "1-2-3-4" and subsequently appeared
on the "Ed Sullivan Show," "David Frost Show," "The
Tonight Show" and others, performing that Willie Dixon-produced tune while
seated at the hulking Hammond B-3 organ. Now approaching his 50th birthday,
Peterson is back on the scene with a career-defining album for the Jazz Village
label. With such titles as "Blues in My Blood," "I'm Still
Here" and the autobiographical title track (penned by renowned Texas
playwright Dianne Tucker), The Son of a Bluesman may be Peterson's most potent
and personal recording in his extensive discography going back to his 1989
debut, Lucky Strikes!
As
Peterson explains, "My wife and I were playing at Tucker's Blues in Deep
Ellum, Texas, and the proprietor there, Dianne Tucker, is a close friend.
Because she knew my story so well, she wrote the song 'The Son of a Bluesman'
for me. Then my bass player (Timothy Waites) wrote 'I'm Still Here' because
he's been with me for four years and we traveled down the highways together so
he knew where I was coming from. When he delivered that song to me I was like,
'Man, you got me straight down to the T.' Another friend gave me 'Blues in My
Blood.' And when I went into the studio to record those songs, it all came
together and the emotions just flowed."
Elsewhere
on The Son of a Bluesman, the Dallas-based bluesman covers Wilson Pickett's
signature "Funky Broadway" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly
Now," which takes on special meaning given Peterson's recent recovery from
his struggles with drugs. The blues master also pays tribute to his mentor
Bobby "Blue" Bland with a rendition of his trademark tune, "I
Pity the Fool."
"I love
Bobby Bland," says Peterson. "I got a chance to be around him when I
was young and he was very encouraging to me. Both Bobby Bland and Little Milton
were great to me. I'm definitely lucky I got a chance to be around those cats
and I appreciated them letting me do my thing and being supportive of it."
"Nana
Jarnell" is dedicated to Peterson's mother and also the mother of his wife
Tamara Stovall-Peterson. "My mother's name was Jarnell and we used to call
her mother Nana, so I combined the two names in the title," he says.
Peterson's
wife also penned the tune "Joy," which Peterson recorded at his
Dallas home on dobro guitar and which features cameo appearances from his
daughter Lucki Azariah Peterson and his son Tamaron Stovall. 'We set up in my kitchen,"
he explains. "We had microphones on the ceiling fan and I took an orange
crush can and put some rocks out of the fish tank into the can, and that was my
drums. My wife sang the first verse and then we woke my daughter up at two
o'clock in the morning to come and sing on the second verse. And then I sent
the tapes to my son and said, 'Hey man, since you like to rap, I'm sending you
something and I want you to rap on it.' So that's all my family, it's all
heartfelt stuff."
For
sheer, unadulterated burn, the album's instrumental closer, "You Lucky
Dog," can't be beat. A showcase of Peterson's blazing chops on organ and
stinging guitar licks, it concludes The Son of a Bluesman on an exhilarating
note.
"This
is the first record that I ever produced myself, without having anybody
watching me over my shoulder," says Peterson. "Everything went the
way I wanted it to go and I'm really proud of what I came up with." He
adds, "My father would've loved this record. He turned out to be my
biggest fan."
Born in
December of 1964 in Buffalo, New York, Peterson was immersed in music from a
very early age. His father, James Peterson, was a guitarist and singer who
performed regularly at Buffalo's jazz and blues club The Governor's Inn. It was
at the foot of his father that he soaked up the spirit of the blues. Peterson,
a child prodigy, showed a remarkable gift for playing the organ at an early age
and was discovered by bassist, composer and Chess Records producer Willie Dixon
in 1969. The young musician recorded his debut album, Our Future: 5 Year Old
Lucky Peterson, which included his hit single "1-2-3-4." At age 17,
Peterson studied at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, where
he learned how to play French horn. Shortly afterwards, he joined blues star
Little Milton on the road and remained in his band for three years, at which
point he hooked up with the soulful singer Bobby "Blue" Bland for a
three-year stint.
In 1987,
Peterson launched his solo career with Lucky Strikes! on Bob Greenlee's
Florida-based King Snake Records. That debut album was subsequently picked up
by Alligator Records, which led to 1989's Triple Play on the Chicago-based
blues label. Peterson was picked up by Verve Records in 1992 and released the
John Synder-produced I'm Ready. He followed with two other Snyder-produced
records for the label including Beyond Cool (1994) and Lifetime (1996), the
latter outing featuring bassist Bootsy Collins and drummer Dennis Chambers. In
1997 he recorded a tribute to iconic gospel singer Mahalia Jackson with Mavis
Staples on vocals and Peterson on organ. Over the past decade, Peterson
recorded a string of albums for a variety of labels, ultimately leading him to
document his own life on the compelling, autobiographical The Son of a
Bluesman.
Lucky
Peterson · The Son of a Bluesman / Jazz
Village · Release Date: June 10, 2014
