Both Jones's parents were interested in music: his father, Lewis, was a piano teacher in addition to his job as an aeronautical engineer, and his mother, Louisa, played piano and organ and led the choir at the local church. Jones listened to classical music as a child but preferred blues, particularly Elmore James and Robert Johnson. In 1957, Jones first heard Cannonball Adderley's music; this inspired his interest in jazz. Jones persuaded his parents to buy him a saxophone and two years later his parents gave him his first acoustic guitar as a 17th-birthday present. Jones began performing at local blues and jazz clubs, while busking and working odd jobs. He reportedly stole small amounts of money from work to pay for cigarettes, for which he was fired.