Eva Cassidy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eva Cassidy
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Cassidy in 1988
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Eva Marie Cassidy |
| Born | February 2, 1963 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 1996 (aged 33) Bowie, Maryland, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1981–1996 |
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| Associated acts | Chuck Brown |
Eva Marie Cassidy (born February 2, 1963 – died November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist. She was famous for her amazing voice and how she sang jazz, folk, and blues songs.
In 1992, Eva released her first album, The Other Side. This album featured duets with the musician Chuck Brown. Later, in 1996, she released a live solo album called Live at Blues Alley.
Even though she was well-known in her hometown of Washington, D.C., Eva was not famous worldwide. Sadly, she passed away from a type of cancer called melanoma in 1996, when she was just 33 years old.
Two years after her death, Eva's music became very popular in the United Kingdom. Her songs "Fields of Gold" and "Over the Rainbow" were played on BBC Radio 2. People loved her voice. A video of her singing "Over the Rainbow" was shown on the TV show Top of the Pops 2.
Soon after, her album Songbird became a number one hit in the UK. This happened almost three years after it was first released. Because of this success in the UK and Ireland, Eva Cassidy became known all over the world. Her albums released after her death have sold more than ten million copies. Many of her songs have also reached the top 10 in countries like Australia, Germany, and Sweden.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Eva Cassidy was born on February 2, 1963, in Washington, D.C. She grew up in Maryland. She was the third of four children in her family. Her father, Hugh Cassidy, was a teacher and musician. He taught Eva to play the guitar when she was nine years old. She started singing and playing at family gatherings.
When she was 11, Eva joined a band called Easy Street. They played at weddings and parties. Eva was quite shy, so performing in front of strangers was a challenge for her. Later, in high school, she sang with another local band called Stonehenge.
In the summer of 1983, Eva sang and played guitar six days a week at a theme park called Wild World. Her younger brother, Dan, also played the fiddle in this band. Eva also took art classes, but she decided they weren't for her.
During the 1980s, Eva worked with several other bands. She also worked at a plant nursery and painted furniture. In her free time, she enjoyed painting, sculpting, and designing jewelry.
Developing Her Music Career
In 1986, a friend from high school asked Eva to sing for his music project. This led her to meet Chris Biondo, a recording engineer and bassist. Chris helped Eva find work as a singer for recordings. He also introduced her to Al Dale, who became her manager.
Eva sang backup for different groups. In 1990, Chris Biondo and Eva formed the "Eva Cassidy Band." They started performing often in the Washington area.
In 1992, Chris played a tape of Eva's voice for Chuck Brown. This led to their duet album, The Other Side. It included classic songs like "Fever" and "Over the Rainbow". "Over the Rainbow" later became one of Eva's most famous songs.
Awards and Live Performances
In 1993, Eva won an award from the Washington Area Music Association for Vocalist Jazz/Traditional. The next year, she performed "Over the Rainbow" at the awards event. Her performance was called "a show-stopper" by The Washington Times. That night, she won two more awards.
After some record deals didn't work out, Eva decided to record her own live album. On January 2–3, 1996, she recorded Live at Blues Alley at a club in Washington, D.C. There was a problem with the first night's recording, so only the second night's songs were used for the album.
Eva was worried about how she sounded because she had a cold. But the album was released, and people loved it. The Washington Post said she could sing any type of music and make it sound amazing. The album she was working on next, Eva by Heart, was released after her death in 1997.
Illness and Passing Away
In 1993, Eva had a type of skin cancer removed from her back. Three years later, in July 1996, she felt pain in her hips. Doctors found that the cancer had spread to her bones and lungs. They told her she had only a few months to live.
Eva chose to have strong treatments, but her health quickly got worse. On September 17, 1996, she made her last public appearance at a concert. She closed the show by singing "What a Wonderful World" for her family, friends, and fans.
Eva Cassidy passed away on November 2, 1996, from melanoma. She was at her family's home in Bowie, Maryland. Her ashes were scattered on the lake shores of St. Mary's River Watershed Park.
Becoming Famous After Her Death
After Eva's death, a singer named Grace Griffith shared Eva's Blues Alley recording with Bill Straw from Blix Street Records. In 1998, a collection of Eva's songs was released as the CD Songbird.
This CD wasn't well-known for two years. Then, Terry Wogan played it on his popular BBC Radio 2 show. The album then sold over 100,000 copies in just a few months. The New York Times praised her "silken soprano voice" and amazing singing.
In late 2000, the BBC show Top of the Pops 2 showed a video of Eva singing "Over the Rainbow". This made Songbird climb the UK music charts. The video, filmed by a friend at Blues Alley, became the most requested video ever on the show.
Famous musicians like Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton became fans of Eva's music. Songbird has sold millions of copies in the UK and Europe. It also became a gold-certified album in the US.
In May 2001, the US TV show Nightline aired a documentary about Eva. After this, all five of Eva's albums became top sellers on Amazon.com. This show was so popular that it was re-broadcast several times.
Since Songbird, many other albums with Eva's recordings have been released. These include Time After Time (2000), Imagine (2002), and American Tune (2003). In 2008, Somewhere was released, which included two original songs Eva co-wrote. An acoustic album, Simply Eva, came out in 2011.
Her song "Time After Time" was also featured on the soundtrack for the TV show Smallville in 2003.
Online shopping and fan sites have helped Eva's music become so successful. In 2005, Amazon.com listed Eva Cassidy as the fifth best-selling musician, showing how popular she had become.
Other Music Releases
Some recordings of Eva's earlier work were released without her family's full support. For example, No Boundaries (2000) was a collection of studio recordings from 1987 to 1991.
In 2002, an album by the band Method Actor, which featured Eva, was re-released. Eva's name was put very largely on the cover. Her family and record label disagreed with this. They said it was misleading. The cover was later changed to look like the original album.
A recording called Live at Pearl's was also shared among friends and family after her death. It was recorded at a restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1994. Some songs from this recording are on other albums.
To celebrate 20 years since the Blues Alley concert, Nightbird was released in 2015. This double CD album includes all 32 songs from the concert, with eight songs never heard before.
Eva Cassidy's Legacy
In 2001, a book called Songbird: Eva Cassidy: Her Story By Those Who Knew Her was released in the UK. It tells Eva's life story through interviews with her family and friends. A US version of the book came out in 2003.
There have been ideas for movies based on Eva's life. Filmmakers have talked with her family, but so far, no movie has been made.
Discography
- The Other Side (with Chuck Brown) (1992)
- Live at Blues Alley (1996)
- Eva by Heart (1997)
- Songbird (compilation, 1998; reissued in 2018 as Songbird 20, remastered with 4 extra tracks)
- Time After Time (2000)
- No Boundaries (2000)
- Imagine (2002)
- American Tune (2003)
- Wonderful World (compilation, 2004)
- Eva Cassidy Sings (DVD, 2004)
- Somewhere (2008)
- Simply Eva (2011)
- The Best of Eva Cassidy (compilation, 2012)
- Nightbird (2015)
- Acoustic (2017)
- I Can Only Be Me (with the London Symphony Orchestra) (2023)
See also
In Spanish: Eva Cassidy para niños
