He began his interest in music very early. At home his parents had a Lester Spinet piano, and as soon as he was tall enough to reach the keys, he taught himself to play by ear. "I recognized chord progressions and melodies, and I could reproduce them after I had listened to them." He started taking piano lessons at age 8, although he already knew how to play and compose blues. After learning to read music he left the lessons, because "I preferred what I was able to learn on my own." He is completely self-taught with his voice and with almost all the instruments, especially the wind of metal and wood, except the french horn, which he perfected at the Curtis Institute of Music. While he was an outstanding student at high school, a member of the National Honor Society, and an accomplished sportsman (a wrestling champion and excellent baseball player who considered playing professionally), he preferred to pursue music.
