Michael Peterson was born in
Tucson, Arizona, on August 7, 1959. At an early age, he was influenced by the music that his grandmother listened to, such as
Cole Porter and
Roger Miller. After attending high school at
Richland High School in
Richland, WA, Peterson later earned a
football scholarship to
Pacific Lutheran University, where he won a national championship. Eventually, Peterson traveled to
Nashville, Tennessee, where he started working as a professional songwriter, collaborating with other writers such as
Josh Leo and
Robert Ellis Orrall.
Michael Peterson Orrall suggested that Peterson sign to a recording contract, and in December 1996, Peterson was signed to
Reprise Records, a division of the
Warner Music Group. His debut single, "Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie", was released that year, charting at No. 3 on the
Billboard country charts and No. 86 on the
Billboard Hot 100. It was the lead-off single to Peterson's
self-titled debut album (not to be confused with the Christian album of the same name from 1986), which also produced four more chart singles. The second one, "From Here to Eternity", became Peterson's first and only Number One hit, while "Too Good to Be True" reached No. 8. Following it was "When the Bartender Cries" at No. 37 and "By the Book" at No. 19. The album was certified
gold by the
RIAA for shipping 500,000 copies in the U.S. Also in 1997, Peterson was named Male Artist of the Year by
Billboard. In 1998, Peterson appeared on
Jenny Simpson's 1998
self-titled album, singing duet vocals on "Grow Young with You". Peterson made a guest appearance on a 1998 episode of
Walker, Texas Ranger called "Eyes of a Ranger."
Being Human Peterson released his second album,
Being Human, in 1999. Its lead-off single, "Somethin' 'bout a Sunday", failed to reach top 40, and "Sure Feels Real Good" peaked at No. 39. Also in 1999, Peterson co-wrote the title track to
Travis Tritt's album
No More Looking over My Shoulder, which was released as a single. After a
Super Hits album for the label, Peterson exited Warner Music Group.
Modern Man After his departure from Warner, Peterson signed to
Monument Records Nashville. His third studio album,
Modern Man, was to have been released in 2002 for the label. Although its title track and "Lesson in Goodbye" both entered the country charts (with the former being the highest-debuting single of his career), the album itself was not issued in the US due to a restructuring of the label's parent company. AGR, a European record label, acquired the album and issued it in Europe in 2004. Six singles were released from it in Europe, including Peterson's own rendition of "No More Looking over My Shoulder." Also included on the album was the track "Right About Now", which
Ty Herndon later released from his 2007 album of the
same name.
After Modern Man Peterson's songs have been covered by a number of artists. Though his last charting single was in 2002, he continues to release albums and performs at military benefits. ==Discography==