remembering eva

If you are not familiar with Eva Cassidy's story, get out the tissues. Born and raised in the Washington D.C. area, Eva Cassidy began to play guitar when she was 9 years old and began performing when she was just 11. As a teenager and young adult she performed with a number of Washington area bands but always struggled with her shyness.

She began to focus on a solo career in bars and coffee houses and the Washington Post once said "she could sing anything — folk, blues, pop, jazz, R&B, gospel — and make it sound like it was the only music that mattered."

Although she had been honored by local music press and associations, she was virtually unknown outside of Washington when she died on November 2, 1996. She was 33.

It wasn't until 2000 when a BBC radio host played a recording of Eva singing "Over the Rainbow" that the world finally took notice. The posthumous album Songbird sold 100,000 copies and soared to the top of the charts.  By Christmas a camcorder video of Eva singing at Blues Alley would become one of the most requested videos ever on Top of the Pops 2.

The recordings from a shy young woman would go on to sell more than 10 million copies in the US, chart 3 number 1 hits in the UK and chart top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.