When did you start to love music and why?

In my case it wasn't live music that stimulated my interest, it was recorded music right from the get go. My father, who was born in 1910 may he rest in peace, was actually a bit of an audiophile before the term was probably even coined. I remember he was the first in our very middle class neighborhood to buy a console Zenith stereo, which was the cat's meow at the time in the mid-50s. I grew up listening to Nat King Cole and others of that era playing on vinyl. Then, in the late 50s, my father went a step further and bought an Ampex reel-to-reel tape recorder with portable speakers (this thing looked like a set of luggage) and started making his own mix tapes of what he had on vinyl. This was so that he could play DJ whenever my parents got together to party with their circle of friends, which was just about every Saturday night. Whoever hosted provided the booze (believe me they all drank like fish but only on Saturday nights), and my ‘DJ dad’ always provided the music. As a kid, I remember hanging out with him, watching and kibitzing whenever he made his tapes. Within a few years, like any good audiophile, he got the upgrade fever again. Out went the Ampex and in came a higher end Sony reel-to-reel that I recall cost around a thousand bucks, not exactly chump change for the early 60s. That Sony got a lot of use. I’ve often wondered whatever became of it. To this day, I still enjoy listening to Nat King Cole.

Started playing piano and drums when I was 12 and grew up in a home that had a Vintage Pioneer "SPEC" system. Loved music and hi-fi ever since!

I had three music boxes when I was a toddler. One played "Hail to the Redskins" one plaid "The Marine Corp Hymn" and the other plaid "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" My mother still has the Fisher Price Raindrops one! I would play them constantly.
When I was a little older I would play 45s on my Dad's hi fi, a Fisher 400, KLH Model 6s and a BSR turntable. He would bring buss trays full of 45s home from his bar. I spent many a day listening to the best of the early '70s bar music.
Cheers,
Jim

I had a phonograph, a german trophy. I spinned records and one day the spring failed and I spinned records with my index finger to the normal sound and voice I got used to hear and developed a great music hearing. I also had a harmonica that I just started playing choosing the right keys to pick up the songs I spinned.
When I tried to fix broken phonograph, the spring jumped off and tangled unmanagable!! It was the worst day of my life that put me onto child depression. My dad than went to the city and purchased my first tube radiola that was able to spin 16,33,45 and certainly 78rpm along with bunch of new records. I was listening and than picking them up on harmonica. At age of 8 I knew how to troubleshoot my tube radiola and replace tubes if spotted failing.
I did not become a musician. As my dad I'm more of the craftsman individual that would troubleshoot electronics, automobiles. Later at the age of 9 I went to music teacher, but had no courage practicing over the sheet music and quit. I guess musicians have to be sons or daughters of such to practice under the constant supervision from early childhood(please count out singers tho) otherwise it's hard to impossible. Having being exposed to the world of music, I clearly understand the difference between garage grown and professional musicians. Hence prefer to listen to the real ones unless the talent is so BIG like Paco De Lucia.
I've been collecting records since I was 8 and know about lots of bands, orchestras, composers, venues. Often attend the live music events. I don't really care about style of music as long as music is there. I believe that music should be supported by talent and skill to be listenable and pleasant.

My first artists I was devoted to Edith Piaf, Bill Haley, Glen Miller, Django Rainhardt, Buddy Rich, Mirelle Mathiew.

I moved to Minnesota in 1983 from San Jose and 1 day I walked into a stereo store in St.Paul (the house of high fidelity) and from that day on I have not been the same.
I listened to a pair of tube amps; atmasphere's ma1 first revision driving a floor standing speaker.Using a rpm turntable with a moving coil as source and quicksilver preamp; the sound was fantastic.I think the sales person was playing Sinatra live at the Sands with Count Basie and it was like I was there at a table drinking single malt with the room filled with cigar smoke.I can now say I wished I had been interested more in music during my school years as I can now understand and appreciate the value and meaning of music and artists who work within it.