When Eva Cassidy passed away in the fall of 1996 most of the world had not yet discovered her incredible talent. I certainly had not. At the time of her death she remained a virtual unknown outside the music circuit of her native Washington, D.C. area.
At only 33 years of age, Cassidy was gone before her recordings reached the ears of any of the music industry’s movers and shakers. Still today, her name fails to ring a bell even with most music fans.
During her short life Cassidy’s numerous recordings covered many soul, pop, jazz and r&b hits spanning four decades of American music. She handled tunes ranging from “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to “People Get Ready” with equal ease, sensitivity and beauty, and her performances were often nothing short of stunning as she redefined established classics.
Among the many songs that Cassidy made her own was the Muscle Shoals R&B classic, “Dark End Of The Street.” Written by Muscle Shoals veterans Dan Penn and Chips Moman, the song was originally penned for soul balladeer James Carr whose recording of the song reached the number 1o position on the Billboard chart in 1967.
Over the following forty years the song has been recorded by more than two dozen artists including Aretha Franklin, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt and the Allman Brothers. All of them turned in credible performances, but none has owned the song like Eva Cassidy. What a treat to hear, really for the first time, fire and life breathed into this sixties Southern Soul standard! How much better it would have been to have heard it live.
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This is a common theme in the music business. It is easy to confuse music and music business. Most often in the music business the cream does not rise to the top.
WOW!!! This is probably the best rendition of “People Get Ready” that I’ve heard….what a talent! So sad to hear she’s no longer with us. I have to believe Heaven sounds wonderful!!