James & Lucky Peterson
Father, Son & the Blues
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, OR.
July 3, 2004

Broadcast on KBOO Radio. No set list or art. Enjoy, twofthrs

Veteran blues guitarist James Peterson, 65, teams up with his multi-talented son, Lucky, 40, for what could prove to be the festival’s most searing blues set.

Florida-based guitarist, singer and songwriter, James Peterson, plays a gritty style of southern-fried blues that recalls Howlin' Wolf and Freddie King. Peterson formed his first band in the 1960s while living in Buffalo, N.Y., and running Governor's Inn, House of Blues. Peterson and his band backed many of the traveling musicians who came through, including blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Big Joe Turner, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson and Koko Taylor.

Peterson, born in Russell County, Ala., was strongly influenced by rural gospel music. But he was also exposed at an early age to blues played in his father’s juke joint. He left home at 14, moving to Gary, Ind., where he first picked up guitar. After moving to Buffalo, N.Y., in 1955, he played with area blues bands. And 10 years later, he opened his club.

In 1970, Peterson recorded his first album, "The Father, Son and the Blues" on the Perception/Today label. Peterson's debut album was produced and cowritten with Willie Dixon and featured his then-5-year-old son, Lucky, on keyboards. Peterson followed it up with "Tryin' to Keep the Blues Alive" a few years later. Peterson's other albums include "Rough and Ready" and "Too Many Knots" for the Kingsnake and Ichiban labels in 1990 and 1991, respectively. The album that put Peterson back on the road as a national touring act was his 1995 release, "Don't Let the Devil Ride" for the Jackson, Mississippi-based Waldoxy Records.

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