When one hears the name Lucky Peterson, one may think that it’s a familiar blues name. Did he appear somewhere recently or does he have something on the radio? Maybe the name is in the back of the memory banks.
Lucky was a child prodigy. He was born Judge Kenneth Peterson on December 13th, 1964 in Buffalo, New York. He started out playing drums. His first gig was at age 3. Discovered by Willie Dixon at age 5, within months he had a hit single called “1-2-3-4”. The single was included on his first album called “Our Future: 5 Year Old Lucky Peterson”. That led to appearances on Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, What’s My Line? and many other shows. By eight years old, Lucky was also playing guitar. Maybe that’s why his name sounds familiar.
His father, James Peterson was also a blues musician who owned his own club in Buffalo called The Governor’s Inn. This is where young Lucky first climbed up on Bill Doggett’s Hammond B-3 organ. His father’s club booked the big names of blues in his club. Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Koko Taylor and Buddy Guy were some of those who played there.
Peterson studied at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, where he played the French horn with the school symphony.At age 17, he became the keyboardist for Little Milton. He played with him for three years. After Little Milton, Lucky was persuaded by Bobby Blue Bland to join his band. He stayed for three years with Bobby before heading to Tampa Bay, Florida in 1988 to launch his solo career.
Lucky worked as a session musician at King Snake Records. His reputation grew and some of his work ended up on releases by Kenny Neal, Rufus Thomas and Lazy Lester for Alligator Records. By 1989, Alligator released Lucky’s third album “Lucky Strikes”. That was followed up the next year with “Triple Play”. Lucky then moved on to Verve Records, Blue Thumb Records and then JSP Records.
Peterson released “You Can Always Turn Around” in 2010 on Dreyfus Records. It’s a personal record reflecting on his battles with drug and alcohol problems. It was his first record since spending time in rehab. He credits his wife for getting him through the tough times. The title reflects his new outlook. His latest release is 2011’s “Every Second a Fool Is Born”.
Lucky Peterson will be performing at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago this weekend, February 10th and 11th, 2012. Come out and show your support for this fine multi-instrumentalist. Rosa’s Lounge is located at 3420 W. Armitage Ave. Phone number is (773)342-0452. Cover is $15.00. Doors open at 8:00. Friday’s show starts at 9:30, Saturday’s show starts at 10:00.
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