Jerry Peters is an American songwriter,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency.
Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...
,
conductor and
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
. He is best known for writing the hit songs "
Love Or Let Me Be Lonely
"Love or Let Me Be Lonely" is a pop song recorded by the soul group The Friends of Distinction and released as a single in early 1970. The song was a multi-format success, peaking in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at #6 on May 1, 1970 an ...
" and "
Going In Circles
"Going in Circles" is a song written by Jerry Peters and Anita Poree, and originally performed by The Friends of Distinction on their 1969 album ''Grazin, reaching number 15 on the U.S. Hot 100, and number three on the R&B chart. The song has ...
" by
The Friends of Distinction
The Friends of Distinction were an American vocal group founded by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, best known for their late 1960s hits, "Grazing in the Grass", "Love or Let Me Be Lonely", and " Going in Circles".
Career
The Friends of Distincti ...
.
Career
Peters was born in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, but was reared in
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Orleans− Metairie−Kenner metropolitan statistical area.
Hist ...
. At the age of 14, Jerry moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where he attended
Susan Miller Dorsey High School
Susan Miller Dorsey High School is a high school located in the Crenshaw, Los Angeles, Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California, ...
. Upon graduating he then attended
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...
as an art major, while continuing to take music classes. He then transferred to the
California Institute of Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of b ...
but left school just short of getting his degree to enter the music business.
During his college years, Peters met Anita Poree and her brother Greg Poree. They started writing songs together. This collaboration between Jerry and Anita Poree would become the
R&B pop classic "Going in Circles", which was performed by The Friends of Distinction. This became Peters' first gold record. Around this time Peters became an in-demand composer, songwriter, arranger, and producer.
In 1972, Peters recorded his only album on
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
, ''
Blueprint for Discovery
''Blueprint for Discovery'' is the only album recorded by producer and arranger Jerry Peters. It was released in 1972 and co-produced by Peters, Keg Johnson and Richard Aaron for Organic Sound Productions.
Track listing
:''All tracks composed by ...
''. Also in 1972 Peters began his association with
The Sylvers
The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were a popular act during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever", and "Hot Line (song), Hot Line". Prior to bec ...
family. Working on all three of their Pride/
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
albums, producing
The Sylvers II
''The Sylvers II'' is the second album by American R&B group the Sylvers. Released in 1973, it was produced by Keg Johnson and Jerry Peters. It was their final album for Pride Records before being moved over to Pride's parent label MGM Records fo ...
. He produced both
Foster Sylvers
Foster Emerson Sylvers (born February 25, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being a member of the family act The Sylvers and his hit single "Misdemeanor".
Biography
Foster ...
albums.
Peters began producing albums by jazz pianist
Gene Harris
Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz.
From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...
in 1975. A total of four were released by
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
. For the rest of the 1970s and well into the 1980s, Peters wrote songs for, produced projects and performed on recordings with some of the very best acts in the music business such as
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
,
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
,
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
,
The Emotions
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
The Jacksons
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
,
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
,
Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...
,
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
,
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
,
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
and many others. In 2011, Peters won his first
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for co-writing the "Gospel Song of the Year" with
Kirk Whalum
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
, "It's What I Do".
Peters is presently based in Los Angeles.
Peters is a member of
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...
fraternity.
Discography
Studio albums
As sideman
With
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
*''
Street Lady
''Street Lady'' is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd released on the Blue Note label in July 1973, with Larry Mizell returning as producer, following the success of its predecessor. '' (Blue Note, 1973)
With
Brass Fever
Brass Fever was an American jazz musical ensemble, which recorded two albums for Impulse! Records. Consisting of both session musicians and leaders such as Shelly Manne, their two albums covered jazz and R&B genres.
Their second album charted a ...
*''
Time Is Running Out'' (Impulse!, 1976)
With
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...
*''
Peregrinations
''Peregrinations'' is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1975 and originally released on the Blue Note label. '' (Blue Note, 1975)
With
Bobbi Humphrey
Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. She has recorded twelve albums and founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. In 1971, she was the first ...
*''
Blacks and Blues'' (Blue Note, 1973)
References
External links
Jerry Peters at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Jerry
African-American songwriters
American funk musicians
American soul musicians
Grammy Award winners
Musicians from New Orleans
Mercury Records artists
Living people
Date of birth missing (living people)
People from Slidell, Louisiana
Songwriters from Louisiana
Year of birth missing (living people)
Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni
Los Angeles City College alumni
California Institute of the Arts alumni
21st-century African-American people