He loved to sing. He sang in every choral group and formed a band with friends that toured central Utah performing at parties and dances.

   In 1938 as a member of the Drama Club he played the part of the class clown in the play “Lass of Limerick “, a role suited to him, apparently.  In thoss days he went by his middle name “Alvin” so shows up in this clip as that person.  I’m not sure when or why he changed to James.

         As far as I can tell, his first foray into music instruments was the violin or all thing, out there in the barren desert on a dirt poor farm.  His mom loved fine music and hired the music teacher to teach Alvin who did well, but when the money ran out, the lessons ended and he never played violin again.
         He picked up accordion at some point. I remember as a kid of 6 or 7 in Vernal how he’d go to someone’s home to meet other guys in the small music group they had formed. They practised at home and played at dances and parties that paid them a pittance.
         He also played banjo but it was the old-style Eddie Peabody banjo. that’s how he referred to it, a banjo of only 4 strings rather than the 5 strings that’s common today.
         His dad payed harmonica for the kids who naturally loved it, there being little music otherwise. However, dad’s other brother Ivan, who begged the most for dad to playa the narmonica, died at the age of 4. Grandpa never played the harmonica again but dad picked it up and played well.
         Of the intruments that he played, the one he liked the best was the guitar.
                

He loved to sing and when he did, he would look in the middle distance, and appear to recede into himself while the words came out.  He felt the emotion of his  songs which added to the quality of is singing. In 1938-9m he sang in the Tabernacle Choir as Tenor #42 which sat just below the largest pipes on the left side of the organ.

SORT THESE OUT:
7. Music & Drama
         -Performer
         -Music Instrument repairs
         -Music instrument builder  -

Performing Arts,
           drama,
           singing,
           music instruments -volin,banjo,guitar,harmonica,accordion

1943 Tabernacle Choir - “Tenor 44”

1958 Music Instrument Construction & Repair - Boston, Provo

           -Instrument Rebuilding -
                           Neopolitan Mandolin, Harmonium, etc
           -Instrument Construction:
                   -Conga drum of spruce & walnut, rawhide deerskin
                       head, sterling silver band
                 -Egyptian Harp modelled on specimen in Berlin Museum  

1958 Created & performed Eskimo show for congregation on
           Brattle Street. Shown in this photo:

1967 Harpsichord - Zucherman model - used on television  - need to get photo

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