EVA CASSIDY: “THE EVA PHENOMENON”
Eva was not a phenomenon, she was a real person. But the unexpected popularity of her music, which came along years after her death — that, truly, has been phenomenal. This page will illustrate some aspects of Eva’s posthumous success.
FEBRUARY, 2001: WHAT A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR EVA ! This photo was taken by Noel D’Abo at the Regent Street Tower Records in Piccadilly, London.
THANKS TO THE BBCs : Pictured at left: Promoters from Blix Street and HOT Records present a “silver disc” to BBC Radio 2 personalities
as a thank-you for their frequent airplay of Eva’s recordings. Since that time the album has achieved gold and platinum status in the UK.
From left to right:
Bill Straw (Blix Street Records),
Paul Walters (Terry Wogan’s producer at BBC Radio 2),
Tony Bramwell (HOT Records),
Geoff Mullin (BBC Radio 2),
Martin Jennings (HOT Records)
Eva’s performance of “Over the Rainbow” at Blues Alley became the most-requested-video ever on the BBC’s “Top of the Pops 2.”
Following the now-famous “Top of the Pops 2” video broadcast, the album SONGBIRD achieved “Triple Platinum” status in the United Kingdom.
This ad appeared in “HMV Choice” magazine.
After SONGBIRD went to #1 on the album charts in the United Kingdom, newspaper feature stories about Eva started to appear, like this one in the Daily Telegraph.
Another feature, this time in the Daily Mirror.
The readers of HMV Choice magazine voted the album TIME AFTER TIME as “Best Album of 2000.”
After the “Nightline” rebroadcast in July, 2001, Eva Cassidy dominated the Amazon.com bestseller list!
The “phenomenon” continues into 2002. This clipping is from a British newspaper, citing Eva as the reason to watch “Top of the Pops 2” that night.
At left, Barbara Cassidy with Andrew Bowles of Hot Records, in Germany in December 2001. Mrs. Cassidy had received an award on Eva’s behalf from the German national television station.
Barbara Cassidy at the “Menschen 2001” awards show in Germany. Photo by Wiebke Sander.
EVA’S PARENTS MET MICHELLE KWAN! Hugh and Barbara Cassidy, and some friends and family members, went backstage before the “Champions on Ice” show in Baltimore to meet the show’s star, champion ice skater Michelle Kwan. Michelle is skating to Eva’s recording of “Fields of Gold” on the 95-city COI tour. Bill Straw of Blix Street Records presented Michelle Kwan with a gold record, which the SONGBIRD album has recently earned for album sales in the United States. The press release from Blix Street states, ‘ Kwan, known for her artistry and grace, has skated to the poignant “Fields of Gold” many times in the past year, but no performance was more memorable than the showcase of champions at the Olympics in Salt Lake City following the figure skating competition. To commemorate Kwan’s contribution to the visibility of the recording, Eva’s parents Barbara and Hugh Cassidy, along with Bill Straw, president of Blix Street Records, presented her with a Gold record backstage at the Baltimore Arena on April 11th [2002] during a tour stop.’
Above, backstage at “Champions on Ice.” From left to right, Anette Cassidy, Hugh Cassidy, Elana Byrd, Bill Straw, Michelle Kwan, Maggie Haven, Barbara Cassidy, Sarah Kass (Anette’s daughter), Kathy McCabe. Maggie tells me, “Bill Straw presented [the gold record] to her, Barbara thanked her and gave her a big hug and Sarah was thrilled beyond belief when Michelle pulled her close to her for a photo. Michelle chatted with us for awhile. She appears to be a very sweet young lady. It’s easy to see why she has become the ‘sweetheart’ of so many people.”
From left to right, Hugh Cassidy, Michelle Kwan, Bill Straw, Barbara Cassidy. Eva’s mother, Barbara Cassidy, asked Michelle Kwan how she came to choose “Fields of Gold” for her exhibition skate. Michelle said that people often suggest music to her, for possible use in her skating, and that someone had given her Eva’s album SONGBIRD. She had heard Sting’s original version of “Fields of Gold” and liked it, but when she heard Eva’s rendition of the song, she knew she wanted to skate to it, she knew it was her music. Michelle said she loved the whole album, especially “Fields of Gold.”
Lynlea from Hot Records in Australia sent me a photo from Chris Biondo’s visit in August, 2002: “Chris being presented with the gold disc on thebasement.com.au by Doug Mulray and
Russell Thomas (standing), our radio promoter.”
September 2002: The most recent Eva Cassidy album, IMAGINE, was “Album of the Week” at one of the major record stores in the United Kingdom. Pat D. sent me the poster. That’s Eva’s cousin Vivien holding the poster, and behind her is a watercolor still life Eva painted when she was a teenager.
At left, an Eva Cassidy display in a shop window, August 2003. Photo by Steve.
Below right, the top UK albums for the week beginning August 24, 2003. Photo by Jenny.
EVA’S “OVER THE RAINBOW” ON TOP OF THE POPS 2, NOVEMBER 2006: The announcer said, “And tonight we’re gonna leave you with Eva Cassidy. See you next week for another ‘Top of the Pops 2.'” Many thanks to Peter for sending me these screen shots!
CHECKING OUT THE SITE: One of the major events of the Eva success story occurred when “Top of the Pops” producer Mark Hagen broadcast the video of Eva singing “Over the Rainbow” at Blues Alley. Around that time, Hagen told me via e-mail that he had often visited my web site, and now here’s a photo to prove it! (Added August 3, 2005)
Note: Because photos take longer to load, I have broken the collection into five parts. For more pictures, visit: