A Tribute To Songstress Eva Cassidy (1963-1996)

I fell in love with Eva Cassidy's voice the first time I heard her sing "Over The Rainbow" about three years ago. As a vocalist and musician, I instinctively searched for more of her recordings and more about the young songstress's life. As I found more of her recordings, I became more and more smitten by her exceptional voice, unaware of the sad news that would eventually reveal itself to me.

Known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics, Eva released her first album in 1992, entitled "The Other Side", a set of duets with musician Chuck Brown. Her second release was a live solo album, "Live at Blues Alley" in 1996.

As I continued to look for more information, I learned that in 1996, Cassidy noticed an ache in her hips. The pain persisted and a few weeks later, X-rays revealed that the melanoma. which was diagnosed during a routine mole removal in 1993, had spread to her lungs and bones. Her doctors estimated she had three to five months to live.

Cassidy opted for aggressive treatment, but her health deteriorated rapidly. In her final public performance in September 1996, at the "Bayou", she closed the set with "What a Wonderful World" in front of an audience of friends, fans and family. She was subsequently admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Eva Cassidy died at her family home on November 2, 1996, at the age of 33. She was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Area Music Association.

Four years later, Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her version of "Over the Rainbow" was played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at the Blues Alley, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album Songbird climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release.

The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition worldwide; her posthumously released recordings, including three UK #1s, have sold more than ten million copies. Her music has also charted top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

It broke my heart when I discovered that the beautiful voice I had been listening to had been silenced in 1996, twelve years before I had first heard her recording. Please turn off my music playlist located on my left sidebar.

It brings tears to my eyes again as I present to you Eva Cassidy and her incredible interpretation of "Over The Rainbow."

The News As I See It: The President and Congress are pledging to work around the clock until they’re absolutely certain they will get nothing done. We're getting closer and closer to the country going into default. We could be out of money by August 2nd. Personally, I'm surprised we still have enough money to make it until August 2nd.

President Obozo ordered Treasury Secretary Timothy "IRS" Geithner to take what little money we have left and buy lottery tickets. I don’t think that's going to work.

Saks Fifth Avenue is planning to open a new store next year in Kazakhstan. Or as it will be called there, "Saks Dirt Road."

According to a new poll, U.S. popularity in the Middle East is at an all-time low. How could it be lower than before, when it was "Death to America?"

In the last month, President Obozo’s re-election campaign raised $86 million. But the bad news is, to get re-elected, he has to come up with $14 trillion more.

This Date In History: 1869; Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries. 1870; Georgia became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union. 1918; The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I. 1940; The world's tallest man (8 feet, 11.1 inches), Robert Wadlow, died.

1948; John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died in Washington, DC. 1975;
The Russian Soyuz and the U.S. Apollo launched. The Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first international manned spaceflight.

Picture Of The Day: The lovely Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996).....rest in peace, love.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it and then misapplying the wrong remedies. 2) Speaking of politics, prostitution is the only business where you can go into the hole and still come out ahead. 3) Politicians make rules for others and exceptions for themselves. 4) Roses are red violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic and so am I. 5) I have all the money I'll ever need - if I die by 4:00 p.m. Monday.....and that's five !

Today's Birthday Horoscope: Cancer - July 15th: Your ability to perform open heart surgery may be brought into question today as you attempt to help an asthmatic in the local park who's having breathing difficulties. Make yourself some coffee, sit down and read the Internet. Hell, it's what you normally do anyway, right? If things go right today, someone you're attracted to will suggest taking things a step further. Remember what I told you about wearing clean underwear.....

Birthdays: My pal Marie Kay. Happy Birthday Baby! 19XX, Rembrandt, Dutch painter, etcher, and draftsman 1606, Clement Moore, poet 1779, Mother Cabrini, nun 1850, Iris Murdoch, writer 1919.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A husband and wife are waiting at the bus stop with their nine children. A blind man joins them after a few minutes. When the bus arrives, they find it overloaded and only the wife and the nine kids are able to fit onto the bus. So the husband and the blind man decide to walk.

After a while, the husband gets irritated by the ticking of the stick of the blind man as he taps it on the sidewalk, and says to him, "Why don't you put a piece of rubber at the end of your stick? That ticking sound is driving me crazy." The blind man replies, "Shut up! If you would've put a rubber at the end of your stick, we'd be riding the damned bus."

Bubba Ray shows up at the bar all out of breath so Dewey asks him, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Bubba Ray says "I've been running from the cops but I finally lost them." Dewey then asks. "What the hell did you do?" Bubba Ray replied, "I was pissing in the shower and the cops showed up to arrest me!" Dewey says, "That's not against the law." Bubba Ray says, "That's what I thought too, but those guys at Home Depot didn't see it that way!"

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: An old guy goes to his doctor for his physical and gets sent to the Urologist as a precaution. When he gets there, he discovers the Urologist is a very pretty female doctor. She says, "I'm going to check your prostate today, but this new procedure is a little different from what you are probably used to. I want you to lie on your right side, bend your knees, then while I check your prostate, take a deep breath and say, 'Ninety-nine'."

The old guy obeys and says,"99." The doctor says, "Great. Now turn over on your left side and again, while I repeat the check, take a deep breath and say, '99'." Again, the old guy says, "99." The doctor says, "Very good. Now, I want you to lie on your back with your knees raised slightly." The old guy assumes the position.

She says, "Now then, I'm going to check your prostate with this hand and with the other hand, I'm going to hold on to your penis to keep it out of the way. Now take a deep breath and say, '99'." The old guy begins, "One ... Two ...Three..."

A farmer got in his pickup and drove several miles to a neighboring farm and knocked on the farmhouse door. A young boy, about 12, opened the door. The farmer asked, "Is yer Pa home?" The boy replied, "No sir, he sure ain't, he went to town." The farmer asked, "Is yer Ma home?" The boy said, "No, she ain't here either. She went to town with Pa." The farmer then asked, "Well, then, how about yer brother, Joe, is he here?" The boy answered, "No sir, he went with Ma and Pa."

The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other, and mumbling to himself. The boy politely asked, "Is there anything I kin do fer ya'? I know where all the tools are, if you want to borry one or I could take a message fer Pa." The farmer uncomfortably asked, "I really wanted to talk to yer Pa. It's about your brother Joe getting my daughter, Pearly Mae, pregnant." The boy considered for a moment. "You would have to talk to Pa about that." I know that Pa charges $500 for the bull and $250 for the boar hog, but I really don't know how much he gets for Joe."

Earl and Bubba are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing and drinking beer when suddenly Bubba says, "I think I'm going to divorce my wife - she hasn't spoke to me in over 2 months." Earl spits, sips his beer and says, "You better think it over - women like that are hard to find."

That's it for today my little goslings. Remember, If you try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to kick yourself in the ass! I'm going to AREA 51 for happy hour. Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !