Ebony and Ivory was the name given to two elderly women in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, one white and one black, who played classical piano together. Both had experienced a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in 1982 and become partially disabled. Ruth Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick were introduced to each other the following year and began playing piano together, one hand each. A reporter covering their story dubbed them ''Ebony and Ivory'' after the 1982 hit song by
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
and started playing the piano at the age of eight. She accompanied singers and orchestras from the time she was a young girl and was often called on to play the piano while in high school. At the age of 16, she graduated with honors from the Martin Smith Conservatory of Music. After getting married in 1933, she continued accompanying singers and orchestras. She also taught piano and conducted a church choir in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. One of the highpoints in her work was directing a choir that once sang with
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
and his orchestra.Jeannie Ralston. "Ebony and Ivory: 'A miracle brought us together' " ''McCall's'' magazine (October 1986) pages 91-92Georgia Dullea. Ebony and Ivory: 1 Keyboard, 2 Good Hands . ''The New York Times'', (September 28, 1987) page C13. Accessed Feb. 18, 2010 In January 1982, she had a stroke that left her disabled on her right side and unable to speak. After months in the hospital, she returned to her home in Englewood,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, able to speak a little bit, but unable to move her right hand enough to play the piano.
Ruth Brewer Eisenberg
Ruth Brewer Eisenberg (1902–1996) was "Ivory" of "Ebony and Ivory," the inter-racial piano duo. Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick, "Ebony," each had a stroke in 1982, which partially disabled them. Prior to the stroke, each had studied and played ...
(1902–1996) played piano for many years. She had a few lessons as a young child, but they were early discontinued. After getting married in 1923, she was taught by her husband,
Jacob Eisenberg
Jacob Eisenberg (1897–1965) (also Yaakov Eisenberg) was an Israeli artist and a member of the Bezalel school.
Eisenberg was born in Pinsk and immigrated to the land of Israel in 1913. He studied art at the School for Arts and Crafts in Vienn ...
, a pianist, teacher and author. He wanted to try out his teaching methods on his wife, but she hated to practice. In order to get her to practice, he promised to do all the housework for her and she agreed. Later, she accompanied him on a lecture tour of the United States, playing the piano to illustrate her husband's piano technique and how his methods could help an adult learn to play the piano. After his death in 1964, she sold their piano, but later missed having it and she bought another one, playing for eight hours the first day. She began to give short concerts to area senior citizen groups, but these were cut short in November 1982, when she had a stroke. She was in therapy for months and although she learned to walk again, she remained disabled on her left side. She was, however, able to return to her apartment in
Cliffside Park
Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 23,594,
In late 1982, Patrick began going for therapy at Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living. Eisenberg started coming in early 1983 and a month later, the program director saw Eisenberg, depressed, fiddling at the piano with one hand. Eisenberg told ''McCall's,'' "I was doodling at the piano ... with one hand, feeling sorry for myself, wishing I were dead. I didn't want to talk to anyone. Then Millie he program directorwalks up behind me with Margaret and tells me that she plays the piano and says, 'Why don't you two try to get together?' And immediately we got to talking about Chopin. And then we sat down at the piano and played Chopin's 'Minute Waltz'. I played the treble with my right hand; she played the bass with her left. I was elated to play my music again, and we found out we knew all the same pieces."
They began practicing at the Senior Center and occasionally at Eisenberg's apartment. In May 1983, a senior citizen center in
Teaneck
Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) fr ...
, New Jersey asked them to play at a party. Their story appeared in local newspapers and they began getting invitations to play at other area hospitals and senior centers. A local reporter dubbed them ''Ebony and Ivory'' and the name stuck.Bard Lindeman. Musicians and victims of strokes find a way to play some very inspiring Chopin ''Park City Daily News'', Bowling Green, Kentucky (May 9, 1988) page 7. Accessed February 18, 2010 They began to play in other senior citizen facilities, at veterans' homes and hospitals.
International human interest story
Their story went national after being picked up by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', which put it on its wire service. They were on television both in the US and abroad and appeared with
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
,
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...
and
David Hartman David Hartman is the name of:
*David Hartman (rabbi) (1931–2013), American-Israeli rabbi
*David Hartman (TV personality)
David Downs Hartman (born May 19, 1935) is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He ...
.
Liberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
, who was a fan of "Ebony and Ivory", made his last television appearance on the Hour Magazine with Gary Collins and made it a condition of his appearance that if they would bring Eisenberg and Patrick on the program, he would come. Newsman
Morry Alter
Morry Alter is a freelance video reporter, having left WCBS New York City in 2006.
Starting his career at WCBS in September 1983 he was a feature reporter who won more than 20 Emmy awards and the Quill Award for professional achievement in the fi ...
won an award for his CBS News report on them. They were featured on ''
PM Magazine
''PM/Evening Magazine'' is a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States. In most areas, ''Evening/PM Magazine'' was broadcast from the late 1970s into the late 1980s.
Origi ...
'',
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
and ''
NBC Nightly News
''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
'', with
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
.
Eisenberg and Patrick's story was included in a book by
Norman Vincent Peale
Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book ''The Power of Positive ...
and in ''More True Stories,'' an
ESL
English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
reader in its third edition. It is included in sermons and religious publications in the US and other countries.Nadbiskupijski Center for Youth Ministry, Sarajevo
Partial list of television and radio appearances
Television
* "New Jersey and You"
WOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW (ch ...
(December 1983) Interview and performance
* "PM Magazine" (May 24, 1984) Performance
* "CBS News" (October 21, 1985) Interview with
Morry Alter
Morry Alter is a freelance video reporter, having left WCBS New York City in 2006.
Starting his career at WCBS in September 1983 he was a feature reporter who won more than 20 Emmy awards and the Quill Award for professional achievement in the fi ...
(won an award)
* "Good Morning America" with David Hartman, ABC (September 9, 1986) Interview
* *The Morning Show" with Regis Philbin, ABC (October 1986) Interview
* "Hour Magazine" with Gary Collins, (December 8, 1986) Interview and performance (Liberace's last television appearance)
* "NBC Nightly News" with Tom Brokaw, "Assignment American: Ebony and Ivory" reported by Bill Schechner (May 6, 1988) News feature
Radio
* ''The American Character'' with Norman Vincent Peale, WOR (February 24, 1985) Feature in a special radio narration
* ''
Rambling with Gambling
''Rambling with Gambling'' was a news and talk radio program that aired in New York City from 1925 through 2016, almost uninterrupted, with one name change toward the end of its run. It was hosted by three generations of people named John Gambling ...
'' with John Gambling, WOR (October 15, 1985) Interview
* ''
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...
'' with Karen Michel,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
Vanderbilt Television News Archive
The Vanderbilt Television News Archive, founded in August 1968, maintains a library of televised network news programs. It is a unit of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashvi ...