Born in New York City, Peter grew up in the Bronx during the mid-1950's in a small, three-room apartment where he lived with his parents, older sister, two cats, dog and parakeet.

For some time, Peter lived with his grandmother, an actress in New York City's Yiddish Theater. She and Peter had a strong bond, and she affectionately named him "Little Wolf" for his energetic and rambunctious ways.
is father was a musician, vaudevillian and singer of light opera. Like Peter did years later, his father left home at age fourteen to join the Schubert Theater Touring Company with which he traveled the country performing light operas such as The Student Prince and Merry Widow. He had his own radio show called The Boy Baritone, which featured new songs from Tin Pan Alley, and was a member of the Robert Shaw Chorale. As a result of such artistic pursuits, Peter's father underwent long periods of unemployment that created a struggle to make financial ends meet.
Peter's mother was an elegant and attractive woman who taught inner-city children in the South Bronx for 27 years. A political activist, union organizer and staunch civil rights advocate, she supported racial equality by attending many of the southern "freedom rides" and marches.

Peter's older sister was also a teacher as well as a photographer who now works as an advocate for persons with disabilities. She continues her mother's tradition, often marching on Washington to support the rights of the disabled. As a teenager, she was a dancer on DJ Alan Freed's famous rock 'n' roll television show The Big Beat. She brought Peter to his first concert, which featured Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Chantels, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Ed Townsend, Buddy Holly, Jo Ann Campbell and Big Jay McNeely. The performers had a lasting influence on Peter.
Growing up, music continually filled the household. With his father, Peter attended many classical chamber concerts and early live bebop performances, as well as concerts by the folk group The Weavers. He took part in a series for children with Woody Guthrie at the Little Red Schoolhouse. Woody Guthrie's Songs To Grow On was the first record Peter owned.

As a child, Peter listened to the radio constantly, often taking it to bed with him and hiding it under the blankets, scanning the dial until dawn. His radio picked up Wheeling, West Virginia station WWVA, which broadcasted every Friday and Saturday nights a live country jamboree featuring the original Stanley Brothers, one of the great bluegrass groups. Through the years, Peter was influenced greatly by radio. Some of the DJs who affected him most were Alan Freed, Jocko Henderson, the Magnificent Montague and Symphony Sid. In fact, Peter later dedicated his first solo record to these DJs.

Peter was first exposed to the sounds of doo-wop by his older sister and the local groups that sang on street corners throughout the Bronx. By the age of 11, Peter started frequenting the legendary Times Square Midtown Manhattan Record Shop, which helped define New York's doo-wop sound. There he met record lovers from all over the city and other young disciples of rock 'n' roll. Many of the top doo-wop groups performed acappella in the back of the store and the shows were often broadcasted on the radio.

Peter attempted to study piano and guitar but his dyslexia, which went undiagnosed in those years, made the instruments difficult and frustrating to learn. At his father's suggestion, he began taking violin lessons. His teacher's apartment was on the first floor of the building, and his friends would gather outside the window to tease and distract him. Needless to say, those lessons did not last long.

Peter's first public appearance was with an almost accapella group called The Three Imps (they were accompanied by a clarinet player). They performed at a Bronx Park talent contest and sang the Everly Brothers' hit "Bye Bye Love."

During elementary and junior high schools, Peter entered a special music program and became the drummer for the school's orchestra. However, the teacher decided he played too loud and wildly, so he was taken off the drums and transferred to the cymbals, and later the triangle, the quietest instrument.

When Peter was seven, his father began working the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the family moved near the town of Sturbridge, Massachusetts. So that his father could do chores, Peter would spend afternoons at the studio of a local painter, Norman Rockwell.

Peter had always had an interest in art. Since the age of two and one half, he drew constantly. His family couldn't supply enough paper, and neighbors would contribute large stacks. Peter would still draw on anything he could find, marking nearly every surface in the apartment.

Peter's interest in art ensued, and he attended art programs offered to talented inner-city children. At the age of nine, he was accepted to the Museum of Modern Art Special Art Development program. Just before high school, while attending one of the many summer art programs, Peter met a stunning young lady, Edie Marie, who became one of the great loves of his life. Edie lived in a low-income housing project near Peter's neighborhood, and they became inseparable. Together, Peter and Edie attended the High School of Music and Art, and both studied painting.
At the age of 14 and one half, Peter moved from his family's Bronx apartment to a painting studio in Manhattan that he shared with several friends. During this period, Peter frequented Birdland, the renowned jazz capital of the world, as well as the acclaimed Five Spot and Village Vangard. There he saw jazz greats Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus.

During one of his many painting marathons, Peter heard an interview with a young folk singer who had recently moved to New York. He called the radio station to ask about the performer, and the show's moderator connected Peter with his guest, Bob Dylan. After the brief conversation, Peter, with paintings in hand, went to meet the young folk singer at his Greenwich Village apartment. Bob wasn't at the apartment, but was holding court with friends at a local bar, The Kettle of Fish. Peter eventually found him at the MacDougal Street bar. In subsequent years, Peter attended many of Bob's early and greatest performances.