Eva Cassidy: Songbird: Her Story by Those Who Knew Her

I stumbled upon a recording of "Over the Rainbow" by Eva Cassidy.It moved me immensly and though I have heard this number sung by many others, this particular version seemed to reach out and touch my heart like no other had done before! I have subsequently read all about her and am in the process of collecting all her albums. It's a shame God has taken away a golden voice that seems just a touch away... She has sung with her heart and added feeling to each note,word and movement.

Haunting and captivating. Her range and ability to bring life to different genres is truly amazing. This is my third in the collection and I continue to be impressed with each new record -- and that's not only because I lived in Bowie. She truly had talent.

Since finding out about Eva I have purchased everything she's done that I could find. While I certainly have my favorites, especially "Wade In The Water", "Wayfaring Stranger", and "People Get Ready" on the Songbird album, I must say I have yet to hear a rendition of hers that I didn't like. She truly had a gift for taking any song and adding her unique twists that would showcase her vocal abilities. Wonderful stuff! What a great shame it is that she was taken from us with such a gift to share as she had.

If you love Eva Cassidy's singing and you want to understand her better as a human being, "Songbird" is definitely a great place to start. Tastefully done, filled with life, friends, laughter, and lots of love, this is a beautiful book about a truly beautiful, talented, strong but vulnerable young woman. So who was Eva Cassidy? A woman with incredible talent, of course, and the ability to reach millions of people with that talent. But, as "Songbird" so richly details, Eva Cassidy was also a normal, complicated human being. A sensitive, shy person who loved art and nature. A perfectionist who could be extremely hard on herself and -- sometimes -- on others as well. A person who wanted badly to connect with others but found it difficult, even painful, to do so. A person "filled with emotions" but "closed, really closed," as her friend Anna Karen Kristinsdottir described her. A strong woman but also a "shy, afraid little girl that needed to be hugged." An intensely loyal friend. A person with a great future ahead of her cruelly cut down just as she was taking off into the stratosphere. Although performing in public wasn't easy for Eva Cassidy, thankfully she was able to overcome and share her musical gift(s) with the world. Wow, could this woman sing! From jazz and blues to folk, from gospel to R & B and rock, Eva Cassidy could do it all -- with passion, with love for the music she sang, and with an incredible voice the likes of which don't come along very often. Some adjectives to describe Eva Cassidy's voice? How about: haunting, gorgeous, inspirational, tear-jerking, powerful, tender, melodic, eclectic, amazing, astonishing, heartfelt, intelligent, poignant, original, awe-inspiring, brilliant. I guess that's enough for starters! And if you think I'm exaggerating, I strongly recommend that, as you read "Songbird," you pause now and again to listen to Eva's versions of "Fields of Gold," "How Can I Keep From Singing," "Over the Rainbow," "Autumn Leaves," "I Know You By Heart," and many others. If those songs -- and Eva Cassidy's life story -- don't send chills up your spine or touch you deeply, then I fear nothing ever will.

If you haven't heard Eva Cassidy sing, then you need to go to your closest music store and pick up her CD, also titled Songbird for an introduction to one of the most underrated beautiful voices I've ever heard. After you hear this music, I guarantee you'll want to buy every one of her CDs that has been released. There is a power and raw emotional edge to her voice that sends chills down my spine and almost makes me feel as though she is singing directly to me. The tragedy of Eva Cassidy's life is that she was struck down by invasive melanoma at the age of 33 and we are left to wonder what might have been.Reading this book, which is loaded with family photographs, has helped to fill in the blanks of her life...I wasn't aware that she was also a talented artist. This is just a beautiful tribute to a pure-voiced singer whose life was cut too short.