Piano playing commanders in chief

It's difficult to believe that the Presidential election season is upon us.  For someone like me who lives in Ohio, basically a swing state, the campaign ads, and robotic telephone calls are already happening.  I started to think about Presidents and music, and wondered how many Presidents played the piano.  Since I was born in 1955, I decide to focus on two Presidents, who (through a news clip) I have seen play the piano.

President Harry Truman was a pianist.  His performances have been captured on film and can be seen on Youtube, according to a March 12, 2012 article on America's top ten musical Presidents by David Guion.  It was a known fact that President Truman enjoyed playing Chopin.  I must admit that simply knowing President Truman liked to play the piano, has added to my great admiration for him, and his time as President.  I think dedication to any musical instrument and particularly the piano, is a sign of an industrious, hard-working individual, a trait needed to be a successful president.  I guess I identify with a person who plays the piano, and places a priority on my favorite instrument, as an integral part of his or her life.

In reading David McCullough's book about Truman, he described several things about Truman, including his voracious appetite for books, as well as his attention to mastering the piano.  Looking at his role as Vice President under President Roosevelt, and in his time as President at the end of World War II, I am sure his ability to play the piano, served him well in tense times.

President Richard Nixon was also an accomplished pianist.  He apparently played the accordion and violin as well.  In Mr. Guion's article he references a clip from the Jack Paar Show, that featured President Nixon performing a short piece he had composed.  President Nixon had strengths as well as weaknesses, but no matter how the Watergate scandal is viewed in history, it is somewhat comforting to know that even he, turned to music.

Though he was not a pianist, one cannot help but recognize that President Bill Clinton played the saxophone well enough to win first chair in his all--state band, and he actually considered music as a career according to David Guion.  As a young mother in 1992, and a person who loves music, it was incredible that he played Heartbreak Hotel on the Arsenio Hall show.  It was the first time since President John F. Kennedy, that I could say a president was truly cool.

As the political season unfolds, it takes a little bit of the stress out of the process, when I realize that even larger than life political figures look to music and particularly the piano, for relaxation, and creativity.  I think if I could hear a any president play his chosen instrument it would have to be President Truman.  He loved Chopin, and so do I.  It just creates a bond that you can feel with a person you never had the opportunity to meet.  Beyond his political stance as a Democrat, my most beloved of political parties, I can still dream and envision him, sitting down and playing something for the sheer joy of it.

Think about our musical presidents the next time the telephone rings with a paid political announcement!