St. Paul

Born Paul Petersen in Minneapolis, MN, St. Paul received early encouragement from his pianist mother. At age seventeen he entered Prince’s orbit and took the keyboard chair in the Time. He appeared onscreen with that ensemble in Purple Rain and contributed to its 1984 album Ice Cream Castle, which earned platinum certification. After the group dissolved, Prince recruited him for a new project called the Family and suggested the stage name St. Paul. The band signed to Paisley Park and featured fellow ex-Time members Jellybean Johnson on drums and Jerome Benton on percussion, along with lead vocalist Susannah Melvoin—sister of the Revolution’s Wendy Melvoin—and saxophonist Eric Leeds. Their self-titled 1985 debut drew widespread critical praise and produced the R&B hits “High Fashion” and “The Screams of Passion,” the latter reaching the R&B Top Ten while crossing modestly onto the pop side. The set also contained the Prince composition “Nothing Compares 2 U,” later made famous by Sinéad O’Connor. The Family proved short-lived; following its breakup the next year, St. Paul issued a solo debut that again earned stronger reviews than sales, though “Rich Man” became an R&B hit. His follow-up, 1990’s Down to the Wire, yielded “Stranger to Love,” which climbed to number 52 on the pop chart. Blue Cadillac appeared in 1996 with limited impact, and he joined the Minneapolis Allstars for their 1998 release Live at the Quest. As a session musician he played on projects by Jonny Lang, the Spice Girls, and Anita Baker. In the late 1990s he spent two years as bassist for the Donny & Marie Show and wrote songs for BBMak and Youngstown. In 2001 he served as musical director for Donny Osmond’s first solo tour in more than a decade, collaborating with producer Phil Ramone. Petersen’s extensive résumé reflects greater staying power and achievement than most artists who passed through Prince’s mid-eighties circle.