Noteworthy: Canadian Rock & Pop Singer/Songwriter Eddie Schwartz

“I write both lyrics and music, and my lyrics in particular have been influenced by my Jewish heritage,” he explains, citing an example of a hit song from 2003.

“Some years ago, Amy Sky and I co-wrote a song called Everything Love Is.  The bridge lyric is very much derived from the Passover Haggadah.  Since we are both Jewish, and the rest of the lyrics in that song owe a great deal to an early Jewish devotee to the teaching of Jesus (Yeshua) of Nazareth, Saul of Tarsus, aka St. Paul.”  He has also co-written with Sky’s talented husband Marc Jordan, and all remain friends.

Over the years, Schwartz has been influenced by many artists and songwriters who have come from many different religious and cultural backgrounds, “but two other Jewish music creators, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan are certainly at the top of my list. I think the poetry and parables of the Torah, and singing as a central shared expression of our beliefs and experiences as a people, profoundly influenced me from an early age. The understanding of how powerful these elements can be when music reinforces the narrative of a lyric, has been a huge influence on me,” he explained. 

Schwartz became increasingly involved in advocacy for creators’ rights and copyright in the early 2000s.  Active in various music industry organizations, he has been a board member of PRO CAN, SOCAN, CARAS (Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences). In 2007-2008 and “was simultaneously president of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Association of Canada” which he helped found.

In 2010, he was elected Vice President and then became the first North American-based President of the International Council of Music Creators in Paris with over 500,000 music creator members on five continents. Schwartz was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2012.

Looking ahead, Schwartz said, “Making music for a living has never been for the faint of heart, and the challenges facing creators today are more daunting than ever.  The good news is that the power of music and creativity sustain us in other ways, and profoundly so.”

He concluded, “Making music has kept me alive in the multiple means of that word and for that I am deeply grateful.  I am happy to expect that it will continue to do so for some time.”