Paul Peterson

Paul Peterson, also known as St. Paul, is a musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time and the single "Intimacy." Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Peterson was the youngest son in a musical family. He was discovered by Prince in 1983 and groomed to replace Monte Moir as keyboardist of R&B band The Time. terson gained exposure when the band appeared in the breakaway hit movie Purple Rain.

When The Time broke up in 1984, Prince gathered the remnants to form The Family, with Peterson as lead singer, along with Prince's girlfriend, Susannah Melvoin (twin sister of The Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin). The band also took Jellybean Johnson and Jerome Benton from The Time. Eric Leeds, sax player of the Revolution, also played on The Family's debut (and only, to date) album. The group's tenure was brief, performing only once live (at First Avenue, where Purple Rain was filmed). Peterson left to pursue a solo career, releasing his eponymous debut album in 1986. Prince wrote a song about Paul's early jump from the Family ship called "Dream Factory," which was later released on 1998's Crystal Ball compilation. Peterson released two solo albums in the 1990s on Atlantic Records and a live recording with the group the Minneapolis All-Stars.

Peterson is also a session musician and has backed up many acts in concert. He currently still tours with Kenny Loggins, and has some appearances as a band member with Oleta Adams. He also played bass for the house band on the Donny & Marie TV program. He has co-written many hit songs for various artists over the years. His latest album, Everything, was released in 2004. Peterson is married and has two children, and still resides in the Minneapolis area.

According to a January 31, 2007, press release on PaulPeterson.com, the The Family is getting back together. It is due to release their long-awaited follow up album in the summer of 2009.

Peterson produced two songs and co-produced two more songs on Oleta Adam's 2009 album, Let's Stay Here. He also played on the whole album, which was released April 21, 2009.

Discography

• The Time: Ice Cream Castle (1984)
• The Family: self-titled (1985)
• St. Paul (1986)
• Down to the Wire (1990)
• Blue Cadillac (1996)
• The Petersons: A Child Is Born (1997)
• The Minneapolis Allstars: Live at the Quest (1998)
• Jeanne Arland Peterson: My Calendar (2000)
• The Peterson Family: A Compilation (2003)
• Everything (2004)
• The Family: untitled (2009) (yet to be released)
• Oleta Adams: Let's Stay Here (2009) (session musician, producer and coproducer, US touring band)

External links

• Official Web Site
• The Family's Myspace page
• The Family on Twitter
• Paul on Twitter
• Susannah on Twitter