A few months ago I told you about a man who, as a teenager, had to decide whether or not to pursue a career on the Pro Golf Tour. Well today, I want to introduce you to a man who had a similar decision to make as a kid. Not about golf, but about music.

I’m with Jim Perrotto in his basement in Harborcreek. He's showing me some of the guitars he has collected throughout his life. Jim is now 81. He started playing the guitar at age 14 when four brothers in his hometown of Meadville wanted him to join their band. The guys needed someone to play the bass guitar. They taught Jim how to play.

"The only reason they wanted me was I mentioned that I had $1200 in the bank,” recalls Jim. “That bass guitar back then and the amp was $615. You can get a good bass and amp today for less than that."

Jim's first gig with the band was only 8 weeks after he started to play.  He was good.  A couple years later when Jim was 16, the legendary Chuck Berry needed a bass player for his concert at Allegheny College. He hired Jim. That same year another music legend, Jerry Lee Lewis, hired Jim for a performance at the college.

"I didn't think anything about it,” says Jim. “I was a kid. You know. A dumb kid. I should have taken all kinds of pictures. I should have done all kinds of things but I didn't.

At 16, Jim did a summer tour with the vocal group The Lettermen just before the trio became famous. He played the guitar as the group sang. When he returned, Jim still played local gigs with his band from Meadville. After graduation, Jim had to decide whether to pursue a musical career. He went another direction.

"College was the important thing, and I knew that I could still play in the band,” he says.

Jim went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Iroquois School District as a teacher, coach, and principal. He taught international students at Penn State Behrend for many years. He played in local bands including The Andy Simmons Trio, Sound Spectrum, The Bayfront Connection, and A Touch of Classics. He wrote Erie's bicentennial song in 1995.

 Jim played on stage with superstars but he has no regrets about staying here and playing his guitar.

Jim also has fond memories of performing with Bobby Wade while both were young musicians in Meadville. Wade later went on to become a member of the soul group "Little Anthony and the Imperials."