Ebony and Ivory (piano duo)

Ebony and Ivory was the name given to two elderly women in New Jersey, one white and one black, who played classical piano together. Both had suffered a stroke 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 and Stevie Wonder.

Margaret Patrick (1913–1994) grew up in Harlem 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. One of the highpoints in her work was directing a choir that once sang with Duke Ellington and his orchestra. 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, able to speak a little bit, but unable to move her right hand enough to play the piano.

Ruth Brewer Eisenberg (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, 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, New Jersey.

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