Eva received praise, but she was still insecure and painfully shy, especially around strangers. As an adult, she worked at plant nurseries, art galleries and other odd jobs, not yet committed to a career in music. Margaret Haven, Eva’s one time co-worker at a local furniture store, recalls one occasion when Eva mentioned that she was doing backing vocals for some musicians.
"I said, 'Oh, you sing?' ", "And she said, 'Yeah, a little.' She brought in a tape the next day. I nearly fell over. I said to her, 'What are you doing working here in a furniture store? Get out of here. Sing.' " Such was the effect of Eva’s voice –the kind of voice that reaches out and touches the listener with the sheer beauty of every word, every note.
Eva seemed to be unaware of this tremendous effect her voice had on people, and despite her immense talent, she rejected the idea of being a star. Her only dream was to travel around Europe with her guitar, playing in cafes.
In 1986, Eva met a man who would help her to understand how good she really was when she went to producer Chris Biondo's recording studio to sing on a demo for a friend's rock band.
Biondo was amazed by her voice and convinced her to come by on her days off from the plant nursery where she worked, so he could record her solo. Eventually, after much persuasion, he convinced her to form the five-piece Eva Cassidy Band in the spring of 1990.
Early on in her career Eva’s naturally shy demeanour and slight lack of self-belief, meant that she kept her eyes on her guitar or on the floor while performing, too nervous to look the audience in the eyes. However, the passionate reactions she evoked from her audiences gave her the confidence to begin to really perform – to look up and to talk to the audience, enabling the passion of her songs to be matched by the simple beauty of her character.
Although several major record labels expressed interest, none signed Eva Cassidy. Her selection of music confounded executives. Would they market her as blues? Jazz? Soul? If they suggested she choose one style, Eva was stubborn: She did the songs she wanted to do.
"The music and the lyrics had to grab her, had to have some meaning for her," says her father.
Eva, it was decided, needed a solo album and spent her own money to self-produce Live at Blues Alley.
At a CD-release party at Blues Alley in July 1996, Eva was surprised to see a line for autographs winding around the club. That night, she was walking with a cane because her thigh and hip hurt. She thought it was because she'd been on a ladder, when she helped to paint a mural in a local school.
Several weeks later, after she eventually had a number of tests, the cause of her pain was found, and the diagnosis confirmed. Advanced melanoma, a form of cancer. She was told that she had 3-5 months to live.
Three years earlier, Cassidy had had a small mole removed from her back. It was the first sign of melanoma, but her doctors assured her it hadn't gone deep. By the time Eva saw a doctor for her thigh pain, the cancer had spread throughout her body.
Bedridden in her parents' home, Eva found comfort in music. Friends serenaded her under the window. Family sang with Eva at her bedside.
With the family's permission, a producer and family friend sent Eva's songs to a small label in California she worked with. The connection was immediate. Eva Cassidy’s Songbird album- a compilation of her finest songs was created.
Profits from the album sales, go to the band and Eva's family. The Cassidys funnel some money into the Eva Cassidy Foundation, whose goal is to provide musical instruments and lessons for impoverished children all over the world.
The last time Eva Cassidy sang in public, was at a tribute concert friends organized, in September 1996 to show Eva how much she was loved. After listening to performances by various musicians and friends, Eva made her way through the crowd.
She had lost her shower of golden-blond hair from chemotherapy and was wearing a hat. Using a walker, she went up on stage.
She got on her stool and announced she wanted to sing a song for those she loved. She sang Louis Armstrong’s 'What a Wonderful World.' Everyone was holding hands, shoulder to shoulder. Everyone was on their feet, holding hands, shoulder to shoulder as their beloved Eva, sang though she was dying, played her guitar though her playing hand was riddled with cancer and smiled though her every movement was agony. Her performance was outstanding.
The concert raised $10,000, money it was hoped would allow Eva to travel or to at least make one last CD. But she was too ill and gave the money to four young cancer patients she had met at the hospital.
As she died, she surrounded herself with her favourite things; fresh flowers, vintage hats, and old pieces of furniture she'd bought at secondhand stores in her youth. Towards the end, when Eva was in the hospital, her loved ones asked if there was anything they could bring or do for her. She said, quite simply, to make a picture for her. Visitors arriving at the hospital all witnessed the same remarkable scene. Crowds of people young and old, friends and family and even a few music legends sitting in the hallway drawing with crayons and pastels. Eva had given everybody the same instructions. What she really wanted was a wall full of pictures.
Four months after her shock diagnosis, Eva lost her battle with cancer. She died 2nd November 1996. She was only 33.
Eva believed in an afterlife, and she's getting it—at least musically.
Not only are there a vast amount of people who haven't discovered Eva, but she is going to be here for generations to come through the power of her music. She was, is and will forever be, one of the greatest voices of her generation.
Eva Cassidy's subtle, but striking songs are strangely more than just songs. With the intense purity of tone and emotion with which Eva Cassidy sang, she breathed vivid life into every lyric, even as her own life was slipping away. If a singer can give me chills, if my eyes water as I hear their melody, if I am moved by a single note, then I would say they are an inspiration. For me, Eva Cassidy is a true inspiration.
I’m going to end my speech with part of my favorite song from the Songbird album, Eva’s wonderful version of Over the Rainbow.
