Eva Cassidy

Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an America ^{United States} n vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk ^{Traditional music} , gospel ^{Gospel music} , country ^{country music} and pop ^{Pop music} classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side ^{The Other Side (Eva Cassidy album)} , a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996. Although she had been honored by the Washington Area Music Association, she was virtually unknown outside her native Washington, DC when she died of melanoma in 1996.

Four years later, Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her version of "Over the Rainbow" was played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at the Blues Alley, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album Songbird ^{Songbird (Eva Cassidy album)} climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition worldwide; as of 2008 her posthumously ^{List of works published posthumously} released recordings, including three UK #1s, have sold around eight million copies. Her music has also charted top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

 
Early life

Born on February 2, 1963, at the Washington Hospital Center, Cassidy grew up in Bowie ^{Bowie, Maryland} , Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.. She was the third of four children born to Hugh and Barbara Cassidy. Her father, a retired teacher, sculptor, musician and former army medic, is of Scottish and Irish descent, while her German-born mother was a horticulturist ^horticulture . From an early age, Cassidy displayed interest in art and music. When she was nine, her father taught her to play the guitar and she began to play and sing at family gatherings. This band performed in a variety of styles at weddings, corporate parties and pubs. Due to her shyness, she struggled with performing in front of strangers. While a student at Bowie High School ^{Bowie High School (Maryland)} , she sang with a local band called Stonehenge.

Throughout the 1980s, Cassidy worked with several other bands, including the techno-pop band Characters Without Names. During this period, Cassidy also worked as a propagator at a plant nursery and as a furniture painter. In her free time, she explored other artistic expressions including painting, sculpting and jewelry design.


Music career

In 1986, Cassidy was asked by Stonehenge guitarist and high school friend, David Lourim, to lend her voice to his music project, Method Actor. This brought her to Black Pond Studios, where she met bassist and recording engineer Chris Biondo. Biondo helped her find work as a session singer ^{session musician} and later introduced her to Al Dale, who would become her manager. She sang back-ups for various acts, from go-go rhythm and blues band Experience Unlimited to rapper ^rapping E-40. Biondo and Cassidy, who were in a romantic relationship for a time, formed the five-piece "Eva Cassidy Band" with Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes and Raice McLeod in 1990. They began to perform frequently in the Washington area. Cassidy's unwillingness to narrow her stylistic focus to one genre hindered her chances of securing a deal. After talks broke down, the two decided to record their own duet album. As a duo, they performed at the Columbia Arts Festival and opened for acts like Al Green and The Neville Brothers. The next year she was invited to perform at the event and chose to sing "Over the Rainbow". A Washington Times review of the event called her performance "a show-stopper". She took home two Wammies that night, again for Vocalist Jazz/Traditional and also for Roots Rock/Traditional R&B. only the second night's recording was usable. Unhappy with the way she sounded due to a cold, she was reluctant to release the album. She eventually relented, on the condition that the studio track "Oh, Had I a Golden Thread", Cassidy's favorite song, would be included in the release, and that they start working on a follow-up studio album. The subsequent studio album she worked on was released as Eva by Heart posthumously in 1997. In the liner notes of Eva by Heart, critic Joel E. Siegel described Cassidy as "one of the greatest voices of her generation." She was subsequently admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital. In accordance with her wishes, Cassidy’s body was cremated. Her ashes were scattered on the lake shores of St. Mary's River Watershed Park, a nature reserve near California, Maryland.After Cassidy's death, local folk singer Grace Griffith introduced the Blues Alley recording to Bill Straw from her label, Blix Street Records. Shot at Blues Alley by a friend with a camcorder the same night the album was recorded, "There's an undeniable emotional appeal in hearing an artist who you know died in obscurity singing a song about hope and a mystical world beyond everyday life", wrote The Guardian.

Jazz critic Ted Gioia writes, "you might be tempted to write off the 'Cassidy sensation' [...] as a response to the sad story of the singer's abbreviated life rather than as a measure of her artistry. But don't be mistaken, Cassidy was a huge talent, whose obscurity during her lifetime was almost as much a tragedy as her early death." Songbird has since achieved significant chart success throughout Europe and six times platinum status ^{British_Phonographic_Industry#Sales_certificates} in the UK. Although still relatively unknown in the United States at that time, the album would eventually be certified gold ^{RIAA certification} in the U.S. as well.

In May 2001, ABC ^{American Broadcasting Company} 's Nightline ^{Nightline (US news program)} in the United States broadcast a well-received short documentary about Cassidy. Over the weekend, all five of Cassidy's albums occupied Amazon.com's best sellers list top spots. The Nightline episode has since been rebroadcast three times due to popular demand. Producer Leroy Sievers has said that it is "probably the most popular Nightline ever". In December, a nine-minute segment on NPR resulted in a similar sales surge, with five of the top seven spots going to Cassidy.

Since Songbird, several other CDs with original material have been released: Time After Time ^{Time After Time (Eva Cassidy album)} (2000), Imagine ^{Imagine (Eva Cassidy album)} (2002) and American Tune ^{American Tune (album)} (2003). 2008 saw the release of another new album entitled Somewhere ^{Somewhere (album)} . Unlike previous albums, which consisted solely of cover songs, this release contains two original songs co-written by Cassidy.

Together with word of mouth and internet fansites, the role of online commerce ^{online shopping} has played a big part in Cassidy's success. This point was further affirmed when in 2005, Amazon.com released a list of its top 25 best-selling musicians, which placed Cassidy in 5th position, behind The Beatles, U2, Norah Jones and Diana Krall, and far ahead of Elvis Presley and several other well-known stars.

In 2004, during the gala opening of the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, the Bowie Regional Arts Vision Association, Inc. (BRAVA) dedicated the Star's Dressing Room to Eva. Following a moving tribute to Eva, Chuck Brown took to the stage and performed his duet "with" Eva as her photos and video appeared in the background.A collection of previously unreleased studio recordings from 1987 to 1991, was released in 2000 as No Boundaries ^{No Boundaries (Eva Cassidy album)} . This release was not endorsed by the Cassidy family In 2002, the self titled 1988 album by the band Method Actor, which Cassidy sang for, was re-released by the band's guitarist and producer David Lourim. Cassidy's name was featured prominently on the cover, which led to the Cassidy family and Blix Street Records filing a lawsuit against Lourim, claiming that Cassidy's name was used in a misleading fashion. Eventually the cover was changed to look like the original LP album.

Two known bootlegs exist. Live at Pearl's was recorded at Pearl's Restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland in 1994. Copies of the tape were circulated among friends and families after her death. Some of the tracks in that recording can be found in Imagine and American Tune. A lesser known bootleg featured Mick Fleetwood on drums and was recorded at his restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia called 'Fleetwood's' in the early 1990s. A copy of the tape was in the possession of Niki Lee - ex-wife of pianist Lenny Williams, who discovered it in her garage and in 2008 attempted to sell it on eBay.In 2001, a book titled Songbird: Eva Cassidy: Her Story By Those Who Knew Her, on the life and work of Cassidy based on interviews with close family and associates was released in the UK. The hardcover edition has since sold in excess of 100,000 copies. A U.S. edition published by Gotham Books ^{Penguin Group} was released in late 2003 and includes two additional chapters on her influences and success in the US. Her life story has also been adapted into a musical and also a Broadway ^{Broadway theatre} piece for cancer benefit.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics gala, and later on tour, figure skater ^{figure skating} Michelle Kwan brought Cassidy's music to a new audience when she skated to a recording of "Fields of Gold". Kwan's part in exposing the music of Cassidy to the international and American public led Cassidy's label to present her a gold record from the certification ^{music recording sales certification} of Songbird. Subsequently, other figure skaters such as Kristi Yamaguchi, Sarah Hughes and Kimmie Meissner have used Cassidy's music in their routines.

Anglo ^England -Georgian ^{Georgia (country)} singer Katie Melua is a keen fan of Cassidy. Her debut album "Call off the Search" contained the song "Faraway Voice", written in Cassidy's memory. One year later, Cassidy's "What A Wonderful World" was spliced together with new vocals by Melua and released as a single exclusively at the British retail chain Tesco. It debuted at #1 on the UK Singles chart on December 16. All profits from the single went to the British Red Cross. Irish singer Chris de Burgh has stated that his song "Songbird" from his album The Road to Freedom was written in honour of Cassidy. Singer Mary Chapin Carpenter made reference to Cassidy in the song "My Heaven" on the album Between Here and Gone: "More memories than my heart can hold, when Eva's singing 'Fields of Gold'."

The first film to feature an Eva Cassidy recording was Flight of Fancy starring Dean Cain. Since then her music has appeared in various film and tv series including the comedy Judging Amy, Joe Somebody, Love Actually, Maid in Manhattan, The Man From Elysian Fields, Alpha Dog and Smallville ^{Smallville (TV series)} . Cassidy's arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" is a popular cover ^{cover version} choice by singing competition contestants, with American Idol season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee and The X Factor ^{The X Factor (UK)} season 3 winner Leona Lewis among the singers. Her interpretation of "Imagine ^{Imagine (Eva Cassidy album)} " has been performed by American Idol season 7 runner-up David Archuleta.


Possibility of future film

In late 2007, AIR Productions acquired the rights to produce a film based on Cassidy's life. It is being produced by Amy Redford (daughter of Robert Redford), Irwin Shapiro and Rick Singer. In an interview a year earlier, Cassidy's parents suggested Kirsten Dunst or Emily Watson as possible actresses who could play their daughter.
Albums




Singles




Bootleg