Pete Norman was born
at a time in which his father was employed as
the strong man for the "Norman
Valpurdy Circus and Sideshow." The
elder Norman's brute strength
and flair for show business, coupled
with the similarity in names
(believe it or not), assured
"Powerful Pierre", as he was then known, a
relationship with Mr. Valpurdy that
proved both long and profitable for both men.
Young
Peter felt his calling at an early age.
Every waking moment was spent at the
training, both mental and physical,
that was needed to be a topnotch sideshow
strong man. But a freak accident involving a
dumbbell and a trained seal, combined with a
cheap Sears and Roebuck banjo, left him by
a balloon ascensionist uncle, changed Pete's
life forever.
The
ensuing years were spent in the study
of banjoists. blues players,
and songwriters, both traditional and
contemporary.
Pete
has spent the last thirty five years in
search of the perfect folk song.
While he has accumulated, from
various traditional sources,
a strange and wonderful collection
of songs and tunes, the ultimate has
yet to be found. To use Pete's own words
though, "The pursuit of happiness
is ninety-nine percent older ships in
the Isles of Guffaw."
He
rests comfortably in his west suburban
Chicago home where he enjoys his
family, writes songs and concise reports,
screws around with his silly web site and
occasionally plays music on the side,
but mostly sitting or standing.