Paul Joseph Peterson (born October 18, 1964), also known as St. Paul Peterson, is a singer and musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time.

Life and career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota, Peterson was the youngest son in a musical family. He was discovered by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

in 1983 and groomed to replace

Monte Moir Monte Moir (born September 10, 1958) is an American songwriter, producer and musician best known as the keyboardist of Morris Day's band The Time and songwriter of many notable American artists. Biography Monte Moir is the original and current ...

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 departure from The Family called "Dream Factory", which was later released on 1998's ''

Crystal Ball A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum or crystal sphere, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune-telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular. In more recent times, the cry ...

'' compilation. Peterson released two solo albums in the 1990s on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

and a live recording with the group the Minneapolis All-Stars. His last solo album, ''Everything'', was released in 2003. Peterson is also a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and has backed up many bands and singers in their tours. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Peterson toured as a member of the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...

. He has also toured with

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

Oleta Adams Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for Fears's international chart-topping album ''The Seeds of Love'' (1989). Her ...

and most recently

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

. In 1990, he released a song, "Every Heart Needs a Home", on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Soundtrack. From 1998 to 2000, he was the bassist in the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

on the '' Donny & Marie'' TV program. He was the Program Chair for the Audio and Recording arts at Minneapolis Media Institute until leaving in June 2016 to tour with

as a bass player. 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 The Family was a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to Prince's record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2011. History The band's origins started with the disintegration of the Time in 1984. Lead si ...

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. In 2017, St. Paul rekindled his band St. Paul and the Minneapolis Funk All Stars, toured in Australia in 2018 playing 2 shows at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

with the show titled "Nothing Compares 2 Prince." He's also played concerts for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and in 2019 played the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. In 2018, St. Paul started releasing new music under his own name again, beginning with "You Got 2 Love". Peterson is married and has two children, and resides in the Minneapolis area. Peterson's daughter Taylor (under the name Jeanne Taylor), released her debut EP "Jeanne" on November 12, 2016.

Discography

Albums

Solo

* ''St. Paul'' (1987) * ''Down to the Wire'' (1990) * ''Blue Cadillac'' (1996) * ''Everything'' (2003) * ''Break on Free'' (2022)

Collaborations

* ''

Ice Cream Castle ''Ice Cream Castle'' is a 1984 album by The Time. Their third album, it consists of six tracks in the funk-pop or ballad genre, and it was produced and arranged by Prince as "The Starr ★ Company". The album's two biggest hits, " Jungle Love" ...

'' — with The Time (1984) * '' The Family'' — with The Family (1985) * ''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) * ''Let's Stay Here'' — with

(2009) (session musician, producer and co-producer, US touring band) * ''Gaslight'' — with

(2011) * ''Relit'' — with fDeluxe (2012) * ''AM Static'' — with fDeluxe (2014) * ''Soul Renegade'' — with Ken Valdez (2017)

Singles

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Paul The Original 7ven members American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Musicians from Minneapolis Living people 1964 births Guitarists from Minnesota 20th-century American bass guitarists Paisley Park Records artists Warner Records artists Atlantic Records artists Ropeadope Records artists Sony BMG artists 20th-century American male musicians