[PRODIGY Roy Eaton with the piano on which he learned to play. Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times]
On Jan. 21, 2010 AfriClassical posted word of a forthcoming article on Roy F. Eaton and his old Edgecombe neighborhood in New York City. Here is a link to the story in The New York Times, which published additional photos as well.
Memories of Sugar Hill
NYTimes.com
By David Gonzalez
Published: January 22, 2010
“New York is a city of blocks, each with its own history, customs and characters. Yet from these small stages spring large talents. Anyone who doubts that need look no further than a stretch of Edgecombe Avenue perched on a bluff near 155th Street.” “The son of a taxi mechanic, Roy Eaton was a childhood piano prodigy who became a trailblazer in advertising. His friends on the block included the artist and writer Faith Ringgold; Cecelia Hodges, a Princeton professor and actress; and Sonny Rollins, the 'saxophone Colossus,' who is still touring. Many of them came from Depression-era families who were short on cash but long on dreams, managing to scrimp for music lessons or art supplies. And they lived in a community where neighbors and churches offered encouragement amid rampant racial discrimination.
“It was like our place to dream the impossible dream,” Mr. Eaton said. “It gave me a sense of, you might call it entitlement or unlimited possibilities — that nothing could stop me from doing what I felt I could do.” “For Roy Eaton, the childhood wonder of his Edgecombe Avenue days has been like a light guiding him through dark moments and celebrations alike. His piano career almost didn’t happen. He was slipping a piece of paper under the bathroom door, imitating the men evicting his neighbors in 1933, when it suddenly opened and mangled a finger. Three years later, when he received the first of many awards, the 6-year-old pianist stood on stage at Carnegie Hall and carefully hid the shortened digit. 'I thought if somebody noticed my finger, they’d change their minds and take away the prize,' he recalled. 'That was the first challenge I had to face in my life.'
“He did not shy away from it or those that would follow, thanks in large part to his mother, Bernice, who worked as a domestic servant after she arrived from Jamaica. 'My mother constantly reminded me that I was black in America,” he said. “In order to get credit for 100 percent, you have to do 200 percent.' He began taking piano lessons at age 6, just nine months before winning his first competition and receiving that award at Carnegie Hall.” “'When I sat down at the piano, it was as if I was speaking,' he said. 'I knew I wanted to be a concert pianist, and never wavered. Nobody had to tell me.' “His growth as a pianist continued through college, though his concert career petered out after he served in the military during the Korean War.
Memories of Sugar Hill
NYTimes.com
By David Gonzalez
Published: January 22, 2010
“New York is a city of blocks, each with its own history, customs and characters. Yet from these small stages spring large talents. Anyone who doubts that need look no further than a stretch of Edgecombe Avenue perched on a bluff near 155th Street.” “The son of a taxi mechanic, Roy Eaton was a childhood piano prodigy who became a trailblazer in advertising. His friends on the block included the artist and writer Faith Ringgold; Cecelia Hodges, a Princeton professor and actress; and Sonny Rollins, the 'saxophone Colossus,' who is still touring. Many of them came from Depression-era families who were short on cash but long on dreams, managing to scrimp for music lessons or art supplies. And they lived in a community where neighbors and churches offered encouragement amid rampant racial discrimination.
“It was like our place to dream the impossible dream,” Mr. Eaton said. “It gave me a sense of, you might call it entitlement or unlimited possibilities — that nothing could stop me from doing what I felt I could do.” “For Roy Eaton, the childhood wonder of his Edgecombe Avenue days has been like a light guiding him through dark moments and celebrations alike. His piano career almost didn’t happen. He was slipping a piece of paper under the bathroom door, imitating the men evicting his neighbors in 1933, when it suddenly opened and mangled a finger. Three years later, when he received the first of many awards, the 6-year-old pianist stood on stage at Carnegie Hall and carefully hid the shortened digit. 'I thought if somebody noticed my finger, they’d change their minds and take away the prize,' he recalled. 'That was the first challenge I had to face in my life.'
“He did not shy away from it or those that would follow, thanks in large part to his mother, Bernice, who worked as a domestic servant after she arrived from Jamaica. 'My mother constantly reminded me that I was black in America,” he said. “In order to get credit for 100 percent, you have to do 200 percent.' He began taking piano lessons at age 6, just nine months before winning his first competition and receiving that award at Carnegie Hall.” “'When I sat down at the piano, it was as if I was speaking,' he said. 'I knew I wanted to be a concert pianist, and never wavered. Nobody had to tell me.' “His growth as a pianist continued through college, though his concert career petered out after he served in the military during the Korean War.
“He ended up as a copywriter and composer at an advertising agency, a rarity for a black man in the 1950s. He wrote jingles, including the one for Beefaroni, a pop-culture standard burned into a generation’s collective subconscious.” “None of his accomplishments were unusual for him, he said, even if others thought they were. 'I went through my life as if racial prejudice did not exist,' he said. Now the father of 7-year old twins, he is reminded daily of his own early energy.”
Roy Eaton
Edgecombe Avenue, NYC
Piano Prodigy at Carnegie Hall
Advertising Trailblazer
Racial Prejudice
Faith Ringgold
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