Eva Cassidy, Songbird

Rob Burley, Jonathan Maitland, Elana Rhodes Byrd

Penguin, 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - 176 pages

The stirring, full-color oral biography of the singer whose pure, haunting voice came to be loved by millions around the world after her tragically brief life.

Eva Cassidy's albums Songbird, Live at Blues Alley, Eva By Heart, Time After Time, and Imagine have sold over a million and a half copies in the U.S. and millions more worldwide. Her songs have been heard on many television shows and film soundtracks, and the video of her classic performance of "Over the Rainbow" is the most requested in BBC history. Yet she lived to see only one of her solo albums released, a CD she underwrote herself and sold from the trunk of her car before her tragic death.

Capturing Eva's essence and tender life story, Eva Cassidy: Songbird collects the intimate memories of relatives, close friends, and the musicians who collaborated with her. The book tells the story of her too-brief life and enduring music. Featuring candid full-color photos and reproductions of Eva's original artwork, a vivid portrait emerges of a woman who devoted her energies to the things she truly loved-giving encouragement to those around her, tending to plants at the nursery where she worked, and performing her music at clubs in Washington, D.C. She succumbed to cancer at age thirty-three just as the world was starting to notice her arresting voice.

Eva Cassidy's music continues to grow in recognition from critics and legions of fans throughout the world. The rock icon Sting has said her voice possesses "a magical quality. People respond to its purity. It suggests something ethereal-something unattainable." This American edition contains two new chapters about her influences and her posthumous success in her native country. With the publication of Eva Cassidy: Songbird, the woman behind the unforgettable voice will at last be known.

What people are saying

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

User Review  - Jan - Goodreads

I discovered Eva Cassidy several years ago and recently ran across this bio of her. She grew up in a very normal family, which made me want to be her friend. She had/has a great voice. I was even able ...

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

User Review  - Hapzydeco - Goodreads

Sad but inspiring story.

Contents

• IV: 12
• V: 30
• VI: 40
• VIII: 60
• IX: 74
• X: 90
• XI: 104
• XII: 122
• XIII: 134
• XIV: 148
• XV: 158
• XVI: 170
• XVII: 173

About the author

British writers Rob Burley and Jonathan Maitland produced a news story about Eva Cassidy for Granada TV in Britain, and did many further in-depth interviews for this book. Elana Rhodes Byrd is an attorney and close friend of the Cassidy family.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Eva Cassidy, Songbird
• Authors: Rob Burley, Jonathan Maitland, Elana Rhodes Byrd
• Contributors: Hugh Cassidy, Barbara Cassidy
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Penguin, 2003
• ISBN: 1592400353, 9781592400355
• Length: 176 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians