Eva Cassidy was an American singer who found little fame outside Washington, DC, during her lifetime. However, her music was posthumously noticed by influential British radio DJ Terry Wogan, and the subsequent exposure took compilation album Songbird to the top of the charts.
Throughout much of Eva Cassidy's early career she was a member of various jobbing bands, and by 1990 she had formed her own group, The Eva Cassidy Band. Her singing came to the attention of Chuck Brown and led to the recording of The Other Side (recorded in 1992, released in 1995), an album of covers of classic songs.
In 1996 she recorded a live album Live at Blues Alley but was unhappy with her performance. Subsequently she began to record tracks for her only solo studio album Eva by Heart. Unfortunately, by the time it was released, she was already dead as a result of cancer. The album was released posthumously in 1997.
Tracks from all three of her albums were compiled into Songbird and it transcended its initial lack of sales when it was picked up by BBC Radio 2 DJ Terry Wogan. Endorsements by several well respected peers including Sting and Mary Chapin Carpenter followed, and her music was soon being used for TV and film soundtracks. Songbird and other subsequent compilations have led to a posthumous career which would surely have pleased her.
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