September 3, 2025

Returning to Bryant Park to play its Piano in Bryant Park summer series on September 19 (12:30—2:30 PM), Roy Eaton considers himself to be in his fourth lifetime; in each of them, he has exhibited an extraordinary will and outlook.

From a young age, Roy Eaton’s life has been exceptional. He performed at Carnegie Hall at age seven in 1937, had his acclaimed solo debut at the storied Town Hall Theatre in New York in 1952 (preceded by his triumphant Chicago Symphony Orchestra solo debut in 1951), followed by a military posting in the Korean war. He went on to be one of the first Black executives in the advertising world of 1960s Madison Avenue — this after being declared dead at age 27 in a 1957 car accident.

Roy has been married to his third wife Barbara since 1996; the twin boys they raised are now 23 years old. He was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame in 2010.

Humble beginnings in Harlem and overcoming adversity

Born in 1930 to Jamaican immigrants — a taxi mechanic father and domestic servant mother — Roy grew up on Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood, next door to tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. An accident at age three cost Roy the tip of his right hand ring finger. Nevertheless, he took up piano at age six and won his first competition a year later, leading to his performance at Carnegie Hall in 1937.

Recognizing his talent and the realities of life as a Black American, his mother instilled a life lesson in him that he follows to this day: he would have to do 200 per cent of the work to be recognized for 100 per cent.

The start of a professional music career

The hard work and perseverance produced results: In June of 1950, he graduated from both the City College of New York (Bachelor of Social Sciences, magna cum laude) and Manhattan School of Music (Bachelor of Music), won the first Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Award (which Van Cliburn would win two years later), and received a fellowship for graduate study in musicology from Yale University.

After successful debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1951 and at Town Hall in New York in 1952, Roy left to serve in Korea from  1953 to 1955. Returning from the service, he needed a job and decided to put his composition and people skills to work at Young & Rubicam, who hired him as a copy-writer and jingle composer in 1955. Roy became the first Black American at a major agency with a creative function on general accounts.

Success in the advertising world

Roy’s jingle for Beefaroni became the product theme for more than 30 years. Another iconic jingle comforted Texaco customers that “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star.” Roy created both campaigns during his time with Young & Rubicam. During his career, he also wrote the music for landmark campaigns sported by General Electric, Gulf Crest, Kent Cigarettes, and Post Sugar Crisp (including its Singing Bear).

After two years with Young & Rubicam, Roy experienced both the end of his “first lifetime” and the beginning of his second because of a tragic event — a car crash in 1957 caused the death of his bride of one year, Margaret, as well as the driver of the other car, and put Roy in a six-day coma, during which he was declared dead. Roy’s own words about the event, as originally printed by Ad Age Magazine:

“Something amazing happened minutes later: a New York Times reporter who was in Utah at the time doing a story found me roadside. He gathered my information and recognized that I was from NYC and immediately contacted [Young & Rubicam].

My creative director [Ed Graham, Jr.] told him to get me to the nearest emergency room, and that he would cover all of the medical costs. He also had specialists flown in to Utah to help me. He then personally jumped on a flight to Utah to sit bedside with me and supervise my recovery.

Back in New York, the creative department raised $8,000 to contribute to my medical expenses because at the time I hadn’t yet registered for my medical coverage. I simply can’t express the love and acceptance that I felt [from Young & Rubicam] and for my friends and colleagues there.”

A rising career in advertising and music

Roy didn’t waste his second chance at life. He married his second wife, Minnette, with whom he had three sons. He got back to work, and in 1959, he moved onto the Benton & Bowles agency as Music Director, rising to Vice President for Music Direction in 1968. That same year, to alleviate intense walking pain from the crash, he learned transcendental meditation, which he still practices to this day.

In 1982, the renowned VP moved on from Benton & Bowles and started his own production company, Roy Eaton Music. Roy’s “third lifetime” was characterized by working for himself. He was part of the 1980’s Drunk Driving Prevention campaign featuring the tagline “Drinking & Driving Can Kill A Friendship.” Two of the ads in particular became cultural icons. Roy’s sound design for a 1983 ad featuring crashing glasses won several awards. That ad also won a Clio award for best overall ad campaign – commercial or public service, advertising’s highest honor. A 1984 ad, for which Michael Jackson donated the use of his mega hit “Beat It,” resulted in the singer receiving a citation from President Ronald Reagan.

A return to performing

Crucially, this is the time in which Roy returned to his original dream. In 1986, he resumed his performance career with the first of several Meditative Chopin performances at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

Performances in Europe, South America, Asia, and four albums followed, most notably Scott Joplin: Piano Rags (Sony Classical, 1997). He also served on the faculty of his alma mater, teaching composition of radio and television commercial music at Manhattan School of Music.

In 2010, Roy received an MSM Distinguished Alumni Award, the same year that he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame.

View Roy Eaton’s upcoming Bryant Park concert details HERE.