Many people are amazed when they realize that President Bill Clinton can play the saxophone. Moreover, he was not the first or only President of the United States of America with musical talent. Musically inclined presidents and their instruments included:
* John Quincy Adams, the flute
* Thomas Jefferson, the violin, cello and clavichord
* Abraham Lincoln, the violin and harmonica
* John Tyler, violin
* Benjamin Franklin, the violin and guitar
* Ronald Reagan, the harmonica
* Chester Arthur, the banjo
* Franklin Roosevelt, the piano
* Richard Nixon, the piano and accordion
* Harry S. Truman, the piano
* Woodrow Wilson, the violin
Many leaders both in the USA and across the globe love music and play a musical instrument. This supports the scientific belief that there is a connection between music and intelligence.
Truman once said, "I missed being a musician, and the real reason I missed being one is because I wasn't good enough." Truman was president from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953.
His mother, Martha Ellen Young Truman, encouraged his love of music, reading and history. His mother was his first piano teacher, and she later hired a music teacher who tutored the young Truman twice per week until he quit. Truman said that he woke up every morning at 5 a.m. to practice for two hours before going to school. His mother was disappointed when he stopped playing at age 15. Truman reportedly stopped his lessons because it was too expensive and he couldn't afford it.
In 1945, his wife said that it was time he quit playing the piano. This resulted from a picture that was published showing him playing with a young Lauren Bacall sitting on top of the piano. Truman was vice president at the time, and the public knew that he was an accomplished pianist. He was said to have mastered pieces from noted composers such as Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven, just to list a few. Contrary to a popular rumor, he could play much more than the "Missouri Waltz." As a matter of fact, some sources actually quote him stating that he didn't care for that type of music.
Truman actually considered becoming a concert pianist early in his life. Although he gave up his dream, a piano was always close at hand in his residences. For the remainder of his life, Harry S. Truman played the piano to entertain his friends and played for pleasure because he found it relaxing. Former President Richard Nixon once played for Truman while visiting the White House.
One of Truman's most quoted statements about his piano playing skills stated, "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference." Other sources have him saying, "If I hadn't been President of the United States, I probably would have ended up a piano player in a bawdy house." These statements show that playing the piano was near and dear to Harry S. Truman's heart.
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