- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEva Marie Cassidy
- Eva Marie Cassidy was born on 2nd February, 1963 in Washington Hospital Center in the United States to Barbara and Hugh Cassidy. Eva grew up with her siblings, Anette, Margaret and Dan, in Bowie, Maryland. The Cassidy family was very musical. From an early age, Eva could master harmonies and first learned the auto-harp but later went on to learn the acoustic guitar. It wasn't just music at which she excelled, she was also a very talented artist. Through her teens, alongside her brother, Eva performed in a high school band called "Stonehenge". Some of the members from "Stonehenge" later worked with her on her later recordings. Though an musician, Eva also worked at a tree nursery, called Behnke's. While recording an album in 1987, alongside ex-Stonehenge musician, Ned Judy, Eva sang vocals for Method Actor. Songs written by David Christopher (formerly known as David Lourim). It was through these recording sessions that she met music producer, Chris Biondo. She made eight albums in total. The Other Side (Duet With Chuck Brown), Live At Blues Alley, Eva By Heart, Songbird, Time After Time, Imagine, American Tune and Method Actor. But tragedy struck on November 2nd, 1996, when she died of melanoma (skin cancer) after a long battle with the disease.
It was after Eva's death that her albums became really successful. It was in 1997, that Paul Walters, a producer for BBC Radio 2 discovered her, and it was "Over The Rainbow" that was played on Terry Wogan's show and ultimately led to the release of the "Songbird" album, which by late 2000 achieved Gold and, by 2001, platinum. Eva's songs have brought solace to those who have lost loved ones, and her songs have been used for cancer research adverts and have been used in Love Actually (2003) and Maid in Manhattan (2002).
- IMDb mini biography by: Agnetha of Sweden
- Figure skating champion Michelle Kwan used her version of "Fields of Gold" in her exhibition program in 2002. The program was performed at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, among other locations.
- Her brother, Dan Cassidy, lives in Iceland and plays a fiddle.
- Her father Hugh, was the former World Champion Super Heavy-Weight in Power Lifting back in 1971.
- In 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from her back. Three years later, during a promotional event for the Live at Blues Alley album in July 1996, Cassidy noticed an ache in her hips, which she attributed to stiffness from painting murals while perched atop a stepladder. The pain persisted and a few weeks later, X-rays revealed that the melanoma 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 the early autumn, at a benefit concert for her at the Bayou, she made her final public appearance, closing the set with "What a Wonderful World" in front of an audience of family, friends, and fans. Additional chemotherapy was ineffective and Cassidy died on November 2, 1996 at her family's home in Bowie, Maryland. In accordance with her wishes, her body was cremated and the ashes were scattered on the lake shores of St. Mary's River Watershed Park, a nature reserve near Callaway, Maryland.
- Is a crystalline-soprano.
- I really like to create the sound of a choir the most. If you could see what the sound of it looks like when I shut my eyes and listen, you'd see the sound as angels spanning across the universe.
- I have the easiest job in the world. All I have to do is sing and play the guitar
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