Mark your calendars for June 28th, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. Roosevelt Island’s own Roy Eaton brings his keyboard magic to Bryant Park. A mainstay of the free noontime concerts series, Eaton has something new to offer.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Roy Eaton in a Capsule
Twice told he would never play the piano again, Roy Eaton has risen above through sheer will and a love of the music. And now, nearly seventy years after a harrowing car accident that killed his wife of less than a year and five after a crippling stroke, Roy is back on familiar ground on the Bryant Park stage.
More details as they become available.
Few people excel at one thing so thoroughly they get a Hall of Fame nod. Eaton did in 2010, but it wasn’t directly for his music. Recognizing a long and successful career in the field, he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.
Eaton – also known as the “Jackie Robinson of Advertising” – broke the color barrier on Madison avenue, joining Young & Rubicam after a stint in the army in the Korean War. Although music was his life, he “had to earn a living.”
Over his years at Young & Rubicam, he composed 75% of the music for their ads, introducing jazz for the first time. Among his hits were “Kent with the Micronite Filter” and the jingle, “We’re having beefaroni. It rhymes with macaroni…”
Eventually, he formed his own company, Roy Eaton Music, before leaving advertising for a return to music full time. It’s now over 70 years since he performed Chopin’s F minor piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony.
He’s just gotten better with time.
Something Special
When I chatted briefly with Roy yesterday, I asked him what was on his playlist for Bryant Park on June 28th. “I wrote a Pandemic Anthem,” he told me.
Bryant Park should host the premiere.
Old RIOC, New Lawyer
President Jones has become better at saying RIOC cares.
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