Eric Pearson

The man had a wicked, very dry, sometimes acerbic sense of humor. Maybe he was born with it back in 1947 in the tiny town of Wilton, Connecticut — maybe, along with a deep and profound connection to music, he developed it in response to contracting polio at age 2.

Eric never considered himself disabled, ever. He could, when he chose, whip around on his crutches as fast as a human eyeblink—as his friends—the ones he made in nursery school and kept for life, can attest to.

He was fortunate to grow up with a Steinway Grand Piano at his fingertips so studying foundational classical piano at 10 followed by theoretical blues & jazz just made sense. Then, in the early 1960s he was introduced to Boogie-Woogie which lit a fire in his belly — he spent innumerable hours exploring its walking baselines, syncopation and blues. You know what comes next... good old rock 'n' roll which eventually included soft, pop, and folk-rock.

After Wilton High School Eric segued to New Hampton Prep School, formed his first band and sang in the Glee Club showcasing his deep bass tones. He got his undergraduate degree in Music at Athens College, in Athens, Alabama and obtained his teaching credentials before graduating in 1971.

Virginia and Tage Pearson, Eric's parents, were thrilled when he went to work at Pearson & Evans on Madison Avenue in Manhattan after college but... he had to be true to his first love, music.

More to the point, playing music with his friends. For 40 years he could be found singing, playing guitar and piano throughout Fairfield County, CT, Boston, MA, and Vermont. For a year he traveled with The Blues Project and North Atlantic Run. He partied hearty with his cronies The Twinkles which then evolved into the Chezbro Band also featuring lifelong musical soulmates Chance Browne and Johnny Dotson. Along the way, Eric's musical gifts meant he had the good fortune to jam with folks like the boys of BB Kings band, Jose Feliciano, Eric Von Schmidt and Bill Lombardo.

Eric embraced many aspects of music. He had a production studio called Luxury Studios in Wilton as well as a piano tuning business. His technical understanding of the piano as an instrument was unsurpassed so it was no surprise when he was accepted into the world’s premier source of expertise in piano service, the Piano Technicians Guild.

Did we mention that he also composed? You can check out his stuff at:

https://www.youtube.com/@ericpearson2745

Later on, Eric moved to Englewood, Florida to help care for his parents. He loved his life by the beach, zipping around the bay on his Boston Whaler, taking photographs, singing at the top of his lungs.

Eventually, Eric became one of the 30% of polio patients who developed a secondary illness called post-polio syndrome. PPS causes progressive muscular decline which in his case was significant and rapid. Recall if you will, Eric's refusal to indulge in self-pity. Even without the use of his hands, he was still composing. Go to YouTube and listen to "So Long" and "Clouds" which he wrote with Phil Dulberg.

In Eric's own words:

“To all my friends who have wished me well, thank you from the bottom of my still pumping heart. I’ve had a very fortunate life and all of you were part of making it so. It was the best of times, and we were there!

Love to you all.”

The folks who had the good fortune to call him family and who miss him so very much include his older brother Nils, his sister, Kristina, Nils' wife Pat along with Erica and Woody Grover, Jonathan and Megan Pearson, as well as four great nieces: Ellie, Josie, Maddy, and CeCe who claimed him as theirs and nicknamed him, "UncE" (pronounced unky.)

Eric passed down his treasured musical instrument collection to the Pearsons and Grovers who are neighbors in Manchester, MD. And, of course, he was the one who gave them their official band name, “The Hand Me Downs.”

— kristina pearson & susan heller