Peter Sprague was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 11, 1955. He was raised in Colorado until 1963, when his family moved to Del Mar, California. Inspired by his father's love of jazz, he took up the guitar when he was twelve. By the age of fifteen he was devoting all his time and energy to learning music. He took private lessons, played in his high school stage band, and formed his first group The Minor Jazz Quartet.