Introduction

 

'Childhood'  2

Music played a large part in young Peters life. Infatuated with the music of Benny Goodman, he longed to play the clarinet just like his idol, and when the chance came in High School to be part of the school band he eagerly waited in line, hoping to be given the longed for clarinet. Sadly, because he was a bit taller than his fellow class mates, he ended up with a tube. He dragged the miserable instrument home crying for much of the way.

In an article that his mother did for The Minneapolis Star August 29th 1958, she outlined the events that happened afterward…

Looking back at her youngest son, born in Minneapolis in 1926, three years after Jim’s birth, Mrs. Salisbury recalled:

“Jim and Peter are brothers, but they are complete opposites. Jim was restless and adventuresome… always in search of some experience beyond the immediate.

“Peter was happy and adjusted from infancy. He was a healthy, superior baby who even as a youngster displayed amazing powers of concentration. He always knew what he wanted to do and went quietly about doing it.

“And unlike his big brother, Pete was a fine student throughout his school days. He also was a fine athlete in swimming, diving, skating, skiing and track”.

And there was music. “peter loved it. He wanted to play it. Jim was pushed into piano lessons, but it wasn’t a favourite activity. I’ll always remember one of Jim’s first recital pieces was a thing called ‘Giants’”.

Arness’ height – he stands 6 feet 6 inches today – was always a source of worry to him in his growing years. He grew fast. His brother, Peter, didn’t. Today he’s a rangy 6 feet 3.

At Ramsey junior high, Peter signed up for the band. He wanted to play clarinet like his idol Benny Goodman.

“But he was a big boy, so the director gave him the tuba”, Mrs. Salisbury recalled. “That first day when he came home from practice he was the most dejected, miserable boy in town.

“The next day, his father went to school and explained Peter’s deep desire for the clarinet. The director weakened and from that time on, Pete and the clarinet were one”.

Graves proved so eager that, at one time, his teacher wanted him to study with the first clarinetist of the Minneapolis symphony orchestra. This was not to be, but Graves did organize a band.

In Peter's own words. I can only show you an excerpt from a longer video here, as it is too large for this forum. Please feel free to join us at this Facebook group if you would wish to see it in video form along with many other films and interviews.  

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1950079801858459

Well, I think before that it certainly started with girls, and then having begun to understand that I would never understand them completely. Then we started thinking about, well I don’t know I thought about the arts really. I loved music, I loved the kinda music, swing band stuff that was so popular when I was a kid and I became very interested in the clarinet.  I started to play and in tune, and I guess in what you would call junior high school. But the band master worked this way, assigning the kids instruments to play that fit their physique, and so I went home lugging this tuba over my shoulder along beautiful Minnehaha creek and by the time I got home, my father was there and said ‘why the long face son?’ And I said I wanna play the clarinet and they give me this thing. So bless his heart, he came with me to school the next morning and talked to the band master, and said, ‘he really wants to try to play the clarinet, would you give him a chance?’ So we did that, and I loved it.

So I took lessons and practiced furiously, eventually I learned to play the saxophone and kinda put myself through school that way, and through college as well. You could earn some decent money now and then. That became important to me and I thought perhaps that was what I would want to do for the rest of my life. I didn’t know when or where, but by that time I had spent enough time playing in gin joints until 3 in the morning, and I felt somehow that the wafting of the gentle Minnehaha creek didn’t mix with that, so I decided that I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life.

Peter Graves