James Peterson

Born in Russell County, Alabama, on November 4, 1937, James Peterson later made his home in Florida, where he performed gritty Southern-fried blues on guitar, vocals, and original material that at times recalled Howlin' Wolf and at others aligned with Freddie King's approach. During the 1960s he assembled his first ensemble while operating the Governor's Inn House of Blues in Buffalo, New York, and the group regularly supported touring artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Big Joe Turner, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson, and Koko Taylor.

Gospel music from his rural upbringing shaped his early years, prompting him to sing in church as a child, while his father's juke joint provided an introduction to blues; at age fourteen he left for Gary, Indiana, to sing alongside John Scott, and although entirely self-taught on guitar he looked to Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett), Jimmy Reed, and B.B. King as models. After relocating to Buffalo in 1955 he continued working with local blues bands and opened his own club ten years later.

His first album, The Father, the Son, the Blues, appeared in 1970 on the Perception/Today label, produced and co-written with Willie Dixon and featuring then-five-year-old Lucky Peterson on keyboards; daytime duties at a used-car lot supplemented his income from the club, and Tryin' to Keep the Blues Alive followed a few years afterward. Subsequent releases included Rough and Ready on Kingsnake in 1990 and Too Many Knots on Ichiban in 1991.

The 1995 Waldoxy Records album Don't Let the Devil Ride, issued from Jackson, Mississippi, restored Peterson to national touring status, while he remained an active performer on the Tampa, Florida, blues scene from the 1990s through the mid-2000s; the decade also brought the 2004 JSP duo recording If You Can't Fix It with son Lucky. He returned to Alabama in the mid-2000s and died of a heart attack there on December 12, 2010. A master showman who learned from the best and knew how to work an audience, James Peterson left a legacy not only as an accomplished blues guitarist, but also as a crafty songwriter endowed with a deep, gospel-drenched singing style.