Q&A with John Eaton, the Foremost Interpreter of the American Popular Song

Wolf Trap's Shana Langfur recently chatted with the one and only John Eaton about his upcoming performance at The Barns on Saturday, February 4th. Eaton has titled this new program, MADE IN AMERICA—A Salute to Our Great Immigrant Composers.

SL: I find it interesting that an immigrant, Irving Berlin, is responsible for one of the most patriotic songs of all time, “God Bless America,” and German-Jewish composer Kurt Weill has been quoted as saying, “I lived in different parts of Germany till I was thirty-three. Yet I never felt the oneness with my native country that I do with the United States; the moment I landed here I felt as though I'd come home.” Do you have a sense that immigrant composers feel more pride for America than native-born composers?

JE: There is no question that immigrant composers are at least as patriotic as composers who are American-born. It’s important to note that Berlin and Weill belong to different generations, and came to America at different times in their lives. Berlin’s family immigrated to New York City when he was only 5 years old thus Berlin did not have many memories of his earliest years in his native Russia. Weill, on the other hand, was in his 30s when he came to the U.S. to flee Nazi Germany. But both men were extremely grateful to America for the opportunities it afforded them. Berlin was a true blue American in the most patriotic sense.

SL: Berlin, a Jew whose family immigrated to New York in 1893 to escape the pogroms in Russia, penned the most beloved Christmas song, “White Christmas.” Do you think Berlin’s “White Christmas” is an attempt at assimilation?

JE: Not really. “White Christmas” was written for the film Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Berlin was out in California when he wrote the song, and of course there is no snow in sunny California. “White Christmas” is a typical Berlin song in that it was a commercial effort. Berlin didn’t really consider himself an intellectual, he was out to write a hit commercial song in both lyric and melody. “White Christmas” was a huge hit and the song was, and still is, extremely popular.

SL: Weill’s “Mack the Knife” and Duke’s “April in Paris” are two examples of songs that are best known in their jazz arrangements. Jazz of course, being a uniquely American art form. Do you think the transformation of these songs over time into jazz standards speaks to the melting pot that is America?

JE: Jazz performance and popular songwriting are two sides of the same coin. The popular song itself was clearly influenced by African-American music to begin with. Berlin was growing up in the ragtime craze and the early days of jazz. Many songs by Berlin, Weill, and Duke were originally written for Broadway shows or reviews. However, it’s been the jazz interpretations of these songs that have perpetuated them in popular culture. The Great American Songbook has stood the test of time because of people like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Jazz musicians in the 1920’s identified with these popular American songs, they liked the melodies and used them as a jumping-off point for improvising. There is a definite symbiotic relationship between jazz and the popular American song, you can’t separate the two, and one would not exist without the other.