Eva Cassidy Biography

Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 in Oxon Hill, Maryland – November 2, 1996 in Bowie, Maryland) was an American vocalist described by the British newspaper The Guardian as "one of the greatest voices of her generation." She had a diverse repertoire of jazz, blues, folk, gospel and pop. Cassidy remained virtually unknown outside of her native Washington, DC, when she died of melanoma in 1996. However, her posthumously released recordings have since sold in excess of four million copies, and in early 2001 the compilation album Songbird reached #1 on the UK album charts.

During the later part of Eva Cassidy's performing and recording career, she was accompanied by a core group of musicians:

In 1998, a compilation of tracks from Cassidy's three released recordings was assembled into the CD Songbird. This CD lingered in obscurity for a few years until being given airplay on BBC Radio Two by presenter Terry Wogan. In 2001 the album reached #1 in the UK. Sting, the songwriter for "Fields of Gold", was reportedly moved to tears when he heard Cassidy's version of his song. The Songbird CD also achieved significant chart success throughout Europe and has achieved gold status in the United States.

Since then, several CDs have been released: Time After Time (2000) and Imagine (2002) and "American Tune" (2003). In 2001 a book entitled Songbird was released in the UK on the life and work of Cassidy, based on interviews with close family and associates. The hardcover edition has since sold in excess of 100,000 copies. A U.S. edition (softcover, published by Gotham Books, a division of Penguin Group USA) was released in late 2003 and included additional chapters.

In March 2001, ABC's Nightline in the United States broadcast a well-received short documentary about Eva Cassidy. A similar broadcast occurred on ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald in Great Britain in May 2001.

In 2002, figure skater Michelle Kwan brought Cassidy's music to a new audience when she skated to Eva's recording of "Fields of Gold" at the Winter Olympics gala (and then later on tour during the northern summer of 2002). Eva's performance of "Kathy's Song" can be heard in the feature film Maid in Manhattan which was released in 2002 as well.

In 2003, Anglo/Georgian singer Katie Melua released her song "Faraway Voice", in memory of Cassidy.

In 2003, American Tune became Eva's third consecutive #1 album in the UK. No other recording artist in popular music history has been able to match this posthumous success, including Elvis Presley. Eva's song Songbird was featured in the feature film Love Actually which was released in the fall of 2003.

Irish singer Chris De Burgh has stated in concert that his song "Songbird" from his album The Road to Freedom was written in honor of Eva Cassidy.

In an nbc4.com interview, her parents mention the possibility of a future film: