All contemporary photos taken at Lucky Peterson's home by Alan Mercer
Legendary American Bluesman Lucky Peterson, master of the blues guitar and the Hammond B3, celebrated his 50th Anniversary of performing professionally in 2019. A prodigy in blues and R&B, Lucky Peterson has gone from being a boy wonder to a respected veteran musician over the course of a half-century. Making his professional debut at an age when most kids are in kindergarten, Peterson matured into a skillful instrumentalist with a sharp, incisive attack on guitar and a funky keyboard sound that splits the difference between soul and gospel, as well as a rich, flexible, passionate voice.
Lucky was born in Buffalo, NY in 1964, the son of James Peterson, a renowned blues guitarist and owner of “The Governor’s Inn”, a popular roadhouse club in the city and regular stop for some of the most famous bluesmen of the day. With all of the incredible talent and music going through the club, Little Lucky Peterson, as they called him at the time, learned very early in his life that his true calling was music, and in particular the Blues!
Already, at the age of 3 Little Lucky Peterson gave his first concert and, instead of going out and playing with the other children, he was hanging around the club learning from and starting to play with the numerous artists that passed through. One of the top artists of the day – Willie Dixon, who recognized his talent and produced Little Lucky Peterson’s first album when he was only 5 years old – “Our Future” released on the label “Today/Perception Records.”
Invitations immediately started to pour in for him to perform live on national TV from such major television programs such as the; “Ed Sullivan show”, the “Tonight show” and “What’s my line” and many others….. With this first album Little Lucky managed to reach out and grab the attention of the whole country with a hit song written for him by his father “1-2-3-4” a cover version of James Browne’s big hit “Please, Please, Please”. And the rest is history!
As a teen, Peterson studied at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, where he played the French horn with the school symphony. Soon, he was playing backup guitar and keyboards for Etta James, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Little Milton.
Lucky Peterson decided to celebrate 50 years in the music business with a grand tour and a new album titled '50 Just Warming Up.'
In the early 90’s, he started to record his own albums on such prestigious labels as; Alligator Records, Verve, Gitane, Universal, Dreyfus, JSP Records, and others and has since spent his years touring extensively – worldwide – with his group – The Organization – playing his own original style of contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. In March 2018 Lucky Peterson was nominated alongside, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo and Robert Cray, by JAZZ FM in the UK for this year’s “Best Blues Act” award.
While his earliest recordings are more than capable novelties, 1989's Lucky Strikes was the work of a grownup making the most of his talent, and 1990's Triple Play doubled down on the confidence of the earlier set. 1996's Spirituals & Gospel: Dedicated to Mahalia Jackson was a powerful, reverent collaboration with vocalist Mavis Staples, while Lifetime, issued the same year, added contemporary funk and hip-hop accents to his mix. 2003's Black Midnight Sun was a tough blowing session with co-stars Bill Laswell and Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, and 2010's You Can Always Turn Around allowed him to show off his take on Mississippi Delta-style acoustic steel guitar.
Tamara Tramell Peterson is known to a wide international audience as plain Tamara Peterson. Wife and performing partner of Lucky Peterson. Tamara has already made three acclaimed albums and guested on Lucky's recent sets. She was a rising star on the Dallas/Fort Worth scene before she met and married Lucky. With a formidable touring schedule with Lucky both across the U.S. and Europe a 'new' star performer is amongst us. Tamara is producing a fascinating mix of southern soul and modern R&B which manages to also combine both tough bluesy edges and a pop female vocalist sassiness-a unique artist.
I visited with Lucky Peterson first and then with his wife Tamara in their comfortable Dallas home.
Alan Mercer: I find it fascinating that you have been performing since you were five years old.
Lucky Peterson: It’s the only life I’ve ever known.
AM: Do you have any vivid memories of being five and releasing your first album?
LP: I have memories of playing the organ, being with my father and then going outside to play.
AM: Was being in the studio and playing music also a kind of playtime for you?
LP: Yes, both were a kind of play. Nobody forced me or pushed me into doing anything.
AM: I know you already played several instruments. Did you take lessons, or did you naturally learn how to play them?
LP: I naturally played them without a lesson of any kind.
AM: That is really something. That’s real talent.
LP: Yes, it is.
AM: I know you were on the Ed Sullivan Show. Did you ever get to see the performance?
LP: No, I never saw it. I only saw pictures.
AM: Was your father considered a master musician too?
LP: He was a musician, but I don’t think he was a master. He was a master musician to me of course.
AM: You are called a master musician.
LP: Yes, I have far exceeded my father’s career.
AM: Did your father own a nightclub your whole childhood?
LP: Yes, I grew up in the nightclub. That’s where I met all the legendary musicians like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and people like that.
AM: The real legends.
LP: Exactly. They all imparted me with wisdom and skills.
AM: Did you ever get nervous playing in front of these people?
LP: No, I was never nervous.
AM: Well you were practically born playing in front of an audience so that makes sense. After your debut recording at five and a half, you released a duo album with your father.
LP: Yes, ‘The Father The Son The Blues’ is the name of it.
AM: How long did you go before releasing another album?
LP: I think it took about five more years.
AM: When did you hit your stride?
LP: I’m in my stride now.
AM: That’s a great answer. Are you already booked for 2020?
LP: I’m always on the road and I’m booked for the year. I’m on the road over half the year. I go to Europe every year where I have much bigger audiences. They have lots of festivals I can play.
AM: You’ve backed up a lot of legends in the recording studio as well, including one of my favorites, Miss Etta James.
LP: Etta was very easy to get along with. We did her record down in Muscle Shoals.
AM: Did you have a favorite of any of the legends you recorded with?
LP: I liked Little Milton a lot.
AM: I like the album you recorded with Mavis Staples too.
LP: That was fun! Really, everyone I recorded with has been a fun experience.
AM: Fifty years in show business is quite a milestone. How does that feel?
LP: I feel great celebrating fifty years. Most people don’t make it. I’ve made it fifty years and I’m still going.
AM: Where do you record your albums?
LP: I record them right here in my house. I have a studio here and me and my wife and my daughter come up with songs. It’s a family affair.
AM: I like the way you fuse together different genres like Blues, Rock and Gospel all on the same album.
LP: That’s what I like to do. It’s an authentic part of who I am. That’s where I’m coming from. I keep it focused and keep it going.
AM: Do you record mostly songs you’ve written?
LP: I write some of them. My wife writes some of them and we have people that send us music all the time.
AM: That song you sing with Tamara off the latest album called, ‘I Will Die 4 U’ is absolutely amazing. When I hear it, I believe every word you are singing. You sound so real. Both of you are not just singing lyrics.
LP: No, we’re not. We mean what we are singing. We mean every word.
AM: Will you be recording again in the near future?
LP: Yes, but not yet. We’re going to wait a while.
Alan Mercer: Tamara, were you a singer and performer before you met Lucky Peterson?
Tamara Tramell Peterson: I was singing and performing pretty much since elementary school where I started doing special programs and Black History programs along with plays and musicals.
AM: How old were you when you met Mr. Peterson?
TTP: The first time I met him I was a teenager about seventeen years old. I came from a very sheltered upbringing. My mom and dad were very strict. I did join a band with a bunch of older players, but they were like my big brothers and they protected me pretty much all the time. All the band members knew Lucky. He would speak to me and I would respond with mister and sir.
AM: Was he attracted to you right away?
TTP: He says so. That’s the story, but I don’t think so. (Laughter)
AM: When did you realize you were attracted to him?
TTP: It happened a few years later when we were on tour. I was twenty-one at the time. It wasn’t a romantic attraction at first. I just liked him because he was fun. He went form me thinking he was a quiet, sweet and shy person to being plain feisty. We were a big family with the band.
AM: What happened to change it to a more romantic relationship?
TTP: We were on the bus and having fun with the bandmembers and little by little everyone kept going to sleep until we were the only two left awake. We were on the top level of a double-decker bus and he sneaked a little kiss that was half on my cheek and half on the lips and that got me.
AM: Were you together from that point on?
TTP: No, because he was in a troubled relationship and I was ending my first love relationship. He did come visit me in Dallas pretty quick and told me his relationship didn’t work so we were together pretty quick.
AM: Did you keep performing together?
TTP: We did off and on. I would tour and then quit and take another job and then I’d go back out on tour again so eventually we realized we wanted to be together all the time, so I started playing with him full time.
AM: Were you recording with Lucky from the beginning?
TTP: No, it took a while. I started singing background and little by little I started singing more lead vocals. Often, I would be in the audience at his shows and he would invite me to come up on stage and sing one.
AM: Do you have a solo album available?
TTP: I’ve recorded three albums and I have the most recent one available now titled, ‘The Best Night Of My Life.’ It’s more of a pop music album.
AM: You are such an eclectic artist.
TTP: That’s what I’m going to start referring to myself as. I’d love to do more musically, but my first priority is being a good mother and wife. I love my family so I am willing to sacrifice things that I might want to do in order to care for my family.
To learn more about Lucky and Tamara Peterson visit his web site https://luckypeterson.com/