Ruth Brewer Eisenberg (1902–1996) was "Ivory" of "

Ebony and Ivory "Ebony and Ivory" is a song that was released in 1982 as a single by Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder. It was issued on 29 March that year as the lead single from McCartney's third solo album, ''Tug of War'' (1982). Written by McCartney ...

," 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 classical piano. Eisenberg was disabled on the left, Patrick on the right. They were introduced at a post-stroke group in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

by the program's director, who knew of their shared love for music and thought perhaps together, they could play as one. A reporter dubbed them "Ebony and Ivory" after the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

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 ...

, which was then a hit.

Biography

Eisenberg was born in New York in 1902 and grew up in

West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...

. At the age of eight, Eisenberg had a few piano lessons, but at 25¢, her parents felt they were too expensive and she didn't have enough talent, so her lessons were discontinued. In 1923, she married Jacob Eisenberg, a pianist, teacher and author. Eisenberg pestered his new wife to let him teach her how to play, but she didn't like to practice, so he agreed to do all the housework if she would practice the piano and she accepted the offer.Jeannie Ralston. "Ebony and Ivory: 'A miracle brought us together' " ''McCall's'' magazine (October 1986) pages 91-92 Jacob wrote textbooks on piano technique and he wanted to use his wife to try out his methods.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 16, 2010 She toured the United States with him, playing at his lectures to demonstrate how adults could learn to master the piano using her husband's methods.Georgia Dullea.

. ''New York Times,'' (September 28, 1987) page C13. Accessed Feb. 16, 2010 After her husband died in 1964, she sold their piano, but later missed it and bought another one. The first day she had the new piano, she played for eight hours. In time, she was playing short concerts for local senior citizen groups. In 1982, she had a stroke. Although she learned to walk again and was able to return to her apartment in

Cliffside Park, New Jersey 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,Margaret Patrick, a black great-grandmother who had also played classical music until 1982, when she also had a stroke. The two of them began to play together, one hand each. 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. They began to play in other senior citizen facilities, in veterans' homes and hospitals. 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 the story of "

" on its wire service, articles about them appeared in newspapers around the United States. 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.

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

, 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. 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. Eisenberg's daughter was the art historian

Jacqueline Moss Jacqueline Moss (1927–2005) was an American art historian, lecturer, writer and art critic. She was the curator of education at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (since renamed) and lectured widely on modern and 20th-century art. Her arti ...

.Jacob Eisenberg, "Let Me Help You" (1964), p. 7. Jay-Roger Music Co., North Bergen, New Jersey. (From notations in book made by a Moss family member.) Her nephew is Canadian artist and musician

Mendelson Joe Mendelson Joe (born Birrel Josef Mendelson on July 30, 1944) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, painter and outspoken political activist who uses his art to express political themes. Career Born and raised in Maple, Ontario and educat ...

Partial list of television and radio appearances

Television

* "New Jersey and You" WOR-TV (December 1983) Interview and performance * "PM Magazine" (May 24, 1984) Performance * "CBS News" (October 21, 1985) Interview with Morry Alter (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 Evening 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" with John Gambling, WOR (October 15, 1985) Interview * "Morning Edition" with Karen Michel, NPR/WNYC (March 9, 1987) Interview

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenberg, Ruth Brewer Women in classical music Jewish American classical musicians Classical pianists who played with one arm People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey People from West New York, New Jersey 1902 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American Jews