What do you think?
Rate this book
Eva Cassidy: Songbird: Her Story by Those Who Knew Her
Discusses the late singer's intimate relationships with friends, family, and fellow performers; reveals her legacy as BBC's most-requested artist; and recounts her tragic death at the age of thirty-three to cancer, in a tribute complemented by full-color photos and reproductions of her original artwork. 50,000 first printing.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2001
3 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 10, 2020
If forced to select a favorite female vocalist, Eva would be my first choice. This book reinforced that appreciation.(1)
***
9/30/2020
http://evacassidy.org/nightbird/
Link to story about Eva's interpretation of Doug MacLeod's 'Nightbird'
" ... it moved me so much, I pulled over to the side of the road and I was weeping. I have never done that song again. When people ask me to do Nightbird, I tell them that if they want to hear THE version, she is the one to listen to. And then of course she died before I got a chance to meet her to ask her how she interpreted it like that.’"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-X1g...
***
Recently someone posted a comment that made reference to People Get Ready. If you haven't heard Eva's rendition ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzLd2...
Among my favorites by her is John Lennon's 'Imagine'
Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ2Ij...
Another favorite : Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPAGH...
Here's what Fleetwood Mac had to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td5mG...
***
(1) - 10/10/2020 -
To claim Eva as favorite female songstress compares to claiming John D MacDonald is my favorite author, and there were times when he was. No, I've read more novels by John D that any other author, and more songs by Eva have survived my music database deletes.
My first favorites were Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba. Bob Marley was long the favorite.
Computer contains more Van Morrison songs than any male. Mercedes Sosa close to Eva in number of songs in my computer. Dozens of female vocalists I'd rather watch perform.
***
9/30/2020
http://evacassidy.org/nightbird/
Link to story about Eva's interpretation of Doug MacLeod's 'Nightbird'
" ... it moved me so much, I pulled over to the side of the road and I was weeping. I have never done that song again. When people ask me to do Nightbird, I tell them that if they want to hear THE version, she is the one to listen to. And then of course she died before I got a chance to meet her to ask her how she interpreted it like that.’"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-X1g...
***
Recently someone posted a comment that made reference to People Get Ready. If you haven't heard Eva's rendition ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzLd2...
Among my favorites by her is John Lennon's 'Imagine'
Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ2Ij...
Another favorite : Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPAGH...
Here's what Fleetwood Mac had to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td5mG...
***
(1) - 10/10/2020 -
To claim Eva as favorite female songstress compares to claiming John D MacDonald is my favorite author, and there were times when he was. No, I've read more novels by John D that any other author, and more songs by Eva have survived my music database deletes.
My first favorites were Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba. Bob Marley was long the favorite.
Computer contains more Van Morrison songs than any male. Mercedes Sosa close to Eva in number of songs in my computer. Dozens of female vocalists I'd rather watch perform.
May 14, 2025
This was an awesome read about the fabulous singer Eva Cassidy with interviews of her family and friends throughout her formative and career years. She was indeed an "old soul" and her music not really like other performers. She refused to be pigeonholed into a "genre" of music, but sang only what she wanted to sing.
If you have not heard Eva, do find her on Pandora or Amazon, or where they sell music. Some of her songs (as only she can sing them) were: Over the Rainbow, I Know You By Heart, The River's Wide, and covers of jazz, folk, and contemporary songs (eg., Field of Dreams).
A respectful and intimate look into her life.
If you have not heard Eva, do find her on Pandora or Amazon, or where they sell music. Some of her songs (as only she can sing them) were: Over the Rainbow, I Know You By Heart, The River's Wide, and covers of jazz, folk, and contemporary songs (eg., Field of Dreams).
A respectful and intimate look into her life.
December 29, 2016
Eva Cassidy was magic.
Even though this book has a disruptive narrative structure, her kind hearted, naively innocent and
old-soul yet kid-like nature shins through in pictures and in the words her loved-ones use about her.
She saw a joy in simple things. Her everlasting search for "the golden time" in the sunshine gave her life, but also subsequently took her life when she died much too young from skin cancer.
By the sheer quality of her voice and word of mouth her music was shared around the world after her tragic death.
She seemed to have had alerted and sensitive senses. All this seemed to come alive in her singing. In the recordings of her she seems so present.
She seemed to be able to create a harmony within herself when singing while also creating beautiful harmonies in her expression of music. No one seems to be as good as Cassidy at deconstructing song and making them her own with whole complete arrangements.
I hope a better biography of her will come along. This book is worth 3-star but since she is a 5-star personality my final verdict became a 4-star rating.
Even though this book has a disruptive narrative structure, her kind hearted, naively innocent and
old-soul yet kid-like nature shins through in pictures and in the words her loved-ones use about her.
She saw a joy in simple things. Her everlasting search for "the golden time" in the sunshine gave her life, but also subsequently took her life when she died much too young from skin cancer.
By the sheer quality of her voice and word of mouth her music was shared around the world after her tragic death.
She seemed to have had alerted and sensitive senses. All this seemed to come alive in her singing. In the recordings of her she seems so present.
She seemed to be able to create a harmony within herself when singing while also creating beautiful harmonies in her expression of music. No one seems to be as good as Cassidy at deconstructing song and making them her own with whole complete arrangements.
I hope a better biography of her will come along. This book is worth 3-star but since she is a 5-star personality my final verdict became a 4-star rating.
October 20, 2008
Terribly sad...especially if you listen to her music while you read.
July 26, 2012
Gosh did I cry... lots.
February 26, 2020
Heartbreakingly sad.
July 4, 2008
Please see my detailed review at Amazon.com
Grace's "Songbird" Review"
Please click that the review was helpful to you at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb!
This was a phenomenal book. I didn't expect much, given what a slim volume it is. I thought it was going to be about how she was an amazing, faultless angel without any flaws whatsoever. What a delightful surprise. Everyone here loved her deeply, but they told great stories about her stubborn streak, her temper and her frustrating moments. I loved every page and I won't be parting with it for the world - the artwork alone makes it worth returning to again and again. If you haven't yet heard Eva sing, please do your ears (and soul) a favor and give her a try. Then pick up this book and find out about the woman behind that amazing voice.
Please click that the review was helpful to you at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb!
This was a phenomenal book. I didn't expect much, given what a slim volume it is. I thought it was going to be about how she was an amazing, faultless angel without any flaws whatsoever. What a delightful surprise. Everyone here loved her deeply, but they told great stories about her stubborn streak, her temper and her frustrating moments. I loved every page and I won't be parting with it for the world - the artwork alone makes it worth returning to again and again. If you haven't yet heard Eva sing, please do your ears (and soul) a favor and give her a try. Then pick up this book and find out about the woman behind that amazing voice.
September 29, 2020
I've really loved learning about the woman behind the voice that I've been a fan of for years. This book documents Eva Cassidy's life, told by her family and friends. She was well loved and incredibly talented!! She stayed true to her dreams, never straying from the type of music that she wanted to perform. Her story is tragic but inspiring; this book had me smiling in many parts and definitely made me cry. This has to be my favourite memoir that I've read yet!! And what made it even more perfect was listening to her music whilst I read it - I absolutely recommend doing the same when you read it!
July 6, 2009
Picked up recently for Roslyn and Andre who are into her music but spent a pleasant afternoon perusing the book first. Not someone I knew much about but I was pleasantly surprised. It is really a series of comments by family and friends of the singer but well presented with a clear thread linking them together and well-illustrated.
July 15, 2013
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. Unfortunately, she died of cancer a few years ago. She had a style all her own and I love her smoky voice.
June 2, 2013
Stumbled across this book at the Goodwill store and having only very recently discovered Eva Cassidy, was interested to know more about her. She was definitely a major talent, and a very independent person.
June 29, 2008
After discovering her amazing voice, I am captivated by her life story as told by those few who knew her well. This tribute to Eva brings her back to life.
May 26, 2010
Sad but inspiring story.
April 2, 2013
Love this bio just as much as her music. Keep a box of tissues handy, bit of a tear jerker.
January 12, 2020
I love Eva Cassidy’s voice and enjoyed getting to know more about who she was. Gone far too sooon.
December 29, 2025
Great book about the life of the brilliant song stylist, Eva Cassidy. What I love about the book is that almost the entire narrative is an oral biography, Eva's story told by those who knew her best- her loving family and loyal friends.
In case you are not aware, Eva is a unique singer who died from melanoma at the far-too- young age of 33. Her music was known around the Washington, D.C. area in the 90's. She played solo gigs with only her guitar at various clubs and coffeehouses, as well as with her band. In fact, she never knew fame, as her music wasn't "discovered" until after her death.
The book is cool because we get to know Eva's family and friends, as well as Eva herself, not just musically. We find that Eva is a gentle, extremely shy person who loves nature. Hiking, biking, walking...Eva was most comfortable in nature. And she was a tremendous artist! She was so good there was an opportunity for Eva to join Disney after further art training. But music was her true calling in her short life.
One must really listen to her music to fully appreciate her story. Her voice is powerful yet tender. Sting, upon hearing his ballad "Fields of Gold" sung by Eva, called her singing "Powerful" and "Magical." Eva was special because she could literally sing anything- Blues, Jazz, Folk, Pop, Soul. Record companies didn't know how to define her. They tried to pigeon-hole her talent instead of thinking out of the box with a one-in-a-million talent like hers. Eva was equally brilliant at a musician with an acoustic guitar as well as a great arranger too.
The pages about her death are very touching and sad, but even that part of the story inspires when we consider her courage and fight. What happens to the songs fortunately captured on tape is a bit of redemption, as Eva's music has sold approximately 10 million records. A new documentary called "The Essence of Eva" was released in 2024 in Europe. Word of her brilliance is slowly making it's way around America, much of it word of mouth recommendations from fans like myself who have just found her music.
Her story is well-worth reading. It will touch your heart and soul as her music has.
In case you are not aware, Eva is a unique singer who died from melanoma at the far-too- young age of 33. Her music was known around the Washington, D.C. area in the 90's. She played solo gigs with only her guitar at various clubs and coffeehouses, as well as with her band. In fact, she never knew fame, as her music wasn't "discovered" until after her death.
The book is cool because we get to know Eva's family and friends, as well as Eva herself, not just musically. We find that Eva is a gentle, extremely shy person who loves nature. Hiking, biking, walking...Eva was most comfortable in nature. And she was a tremendous artist! She was so good there was an opportunity for Eva to join Disney after further art training. But music was her true calling in her short life.
One must really listen to her music to fully appreciate her story. Her voice is powerful yet tender. Sting, upon hearing his ballad "Fields of Gold" sung by Eva, called her singing "Powerful" and "Magical." Eva was special because she could literally sing anything- Blues, Jazz, Folk, Pop, Soul. Record companies didn't know how to define her. They tried to pigeon-hole her talent instead of thinking out of the box with a one-in-a-million talent like hers. Eva was equally brilliant at a musician with an acoustic guitar as well as a great arranger too.
The pages about her death are very touching and sad, but even that part of the story inspires when we consider her courage and fight. What happens to the songs fortunately captured on tape is a bit of redemption, as Eva's music has sold approximately 10 million records. A new documentary called "The Essence of Eva" was released in 2024 in Europe. Word of her brilliance is slowly making it's way around America, much of it word of mouth recommendations from fans like myself who have just found her music.
Her story is well-worth reading. It will touch your heart and soul as her music has.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews