Eva Cassidy was the third of four children born to Hugh and Barbara Cassidy. From an early age, she displayed artistic and musical talent. When she was nine years old, her father taught her to play the guitar, and she began to play and sing at family gatherings.
While a student at Bowie High School, she did sing with a local band, called Stonehenge, and received considerable praise.
At the age of eighteen, Cassidy began her professional career, singing and playing guitar in a Washington, D.C., area band, called Easy Street. This band performed in a variety of styles, at weddings, corporate parties, and pubs.
During the summer of 1983, Cassidy sang and played guitar, six days per week, at Wild World, in Maryland. Her brother Dan was also a member of this working band.
Throughout the 1980s, Cassidy worked with a number of other bands, including the soul and Motown-oriented band The Honeybees, and the techno-pop band Characters Without Names, later called Method Actor.
During this period, Cassidy also worked as a propagator at a plant nursery and as a furniture painter in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1986, she met (bassist and recording engineer) Chris Biondo, who encouraged her and helped her find work as a backup singer for various acts. In 1990, Biondo and Cassidy hired the so-called "Eva Cassidy Band", composed of Chris Biondo, Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes and Raice McLeod, and she began to perform frequently in the Washington area.
In 1992, Biondo played a tape of Cassidy's voice for Chuck Brown. Best known as the "Godfather of Go-go", Brown is also a jazz and blues vocalist. This led to the first commercial recording of Cassidy, the duet album with Chuck Brown, The Other Side; which featured performances of classic songs such as "Fever", Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" and Cassidy's signature tune "Over the Rainbow". The album was released and distributed by Liaison Records, the label that also released Brown's Go-go albums. The duet CD attracted the attention of various record companies, but the offers all required Cassidy to pigeonhole herself within a single style (e.g., pop or jazz), something she adamantly refused to do.[citation needed]
In 1993 Eva Cassidy was first honored by the Washington area music community when she was awarded two Wammie awards for "Female Vocalist Roots/Traditional R&B" and "Vocalist Jazz/Traditional." The next year she was chosen to perform for the awards ceremony.
In January 1996, Cassidy recorded the album Live at Blues Alley, about which The Washington Post later commented that "she could sing anything and make it sound like the only music that mattered". [1] Cassidy was unhappy with her singing on the album, because she had a bad cold on the night of the recording; she began recording a studio album which was eventually released as Eva by Heart posthumously in 1997.
During a promotional event for the Live at Blues Alley CD in July 1996, Cassidy noticed an ache in her hips, which she attributed to stiffness from painting murals. The pain persisted, and, a few weeks later, Cassidy was diagnosed with melanoma. By the time of her diagnosis, the cancer had spread throughout her body. Cassidy's health rapidly deteriorated, and her final performance was in September 1996. At the performance, she had used a walker to reach the stage, sang "What a Wonderful World" in front of an audience of friends, and was subsequently admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital.[citation needed]
Eva Cassidy died on November 2, 1996, at the age of 33. She was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Area Music Association.
Chain Of Fools
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
(Chain of fools)
I thought you were my man
But I found out, I'm just a link in your chain
Oh, you got me where you want me
I ain't nothin' but your fool
Ya treated me mean
Oh you treated me cruel
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain
Chain of fools)
Every chain, has got a weak link
I might be weak child, but I'll give you strength
Oh, babe
(Woo, woo, woo, woo)
You told me to leave you alone
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
My father said 'Come on home'
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
My doctor said 'Take it easy'
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
Oh but your lovin is just too strong
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
I'm added to your
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain of fools
Oh, one of these mornings
The chain is gonna break
But up until the day
I'm gonna take all I can take, oh babe
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
(Chain of fools)
Oh!
(Chain, chain, chain, chain, chain, chain, chain)
(Chain, chain, chain)
Oh-oh!
(Chain, chain, chain, -ain, ain, ain, ain)
Your chain of fools
"Chain of Fools" is a song by Aretha Franklin that was later covered by Eva Cassidy. The song explores the theme of being stuck in an unhealthy relationship. The repeated use of the word "chain" emphasizes the feeling of being trapped in a cycle that one can't escape. The first verse expresses the singer's disappointment after realizing that the person she had invested so much time in was not who she thought he was. She is just a "link in his chain," and he has treated her badly. Despite knowing that she is being mistreated, she cannot help but cling to him. The chorus repeats the phrase "chain of fools" multiple times, emphasizing the idea that there are many people, all caught in a cycle of unhealthy relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Chain, chain, chain
Repeatedly emphasizing the theme of being chained up, trapped, and unable to escape.
(Chain of fools)
Summarizing the entire song's theme - being trapped in a chain of people who manipulate and control you.
For five long years
Reflecting on a long period of time wasted with someone who manipulated and lied to the singer.
I thought you were my man
Believing that someone was trustworthy, only to be proven wrong in the end.
But I found out, I'm just a link in your chain
Realizing that the relationship was one-sided and that the singer had no real power or control in the situation.
Oh, you got me where you want me
Feeling helpless and powerless in the hands of someone who knew how to manipulate the singer's emotions and actions.
I ain't nothin' but your fool
Understanding the singer's place in the relationship - being someone to use and abuse for the other person's benefit.
Ya treated me mean
Describing the cruel and abusive behavior the singer endured from the other person.
Oh you treated me cruel
Continuing to describe the emotional pain caused by the other person's behavior.
Every chain, has got a weak link
Noticing that even the strongest chains can be broken if there is one weak point in the structure.
I might be weak child, but I'll give you strength
Acknowledging that the singer may not be the strongest link, but the other person's actions and manipulation have made the singer stronger in a way.
You told me to leave you alone
Recalling a time when the other person suggested that the singer should break away from the relationship.
My father said 'Come on home'
Having someone who cares for the singer advise them to leave and seek refuge elsewhere.
My doctor said 'Take it easy'
Even a medical professional recognizes the strain and damage caused by the toxic relationship.
Oh but your lovin is just too strong
Regardless of the other person's hurtful actions, the way they show affection keeps pulling the singer back in.
I'm added to your
Admitting that the singer is still a part of the other person's manipulative chain.
Oh, one of these mornings
One day, the singer will finally have the strength to break free from the chain of abuse and manipulation.
The chain is gonna break
Asserting that the singer knows the chain will eventually fall apart.
But up until the day
Even though there is hope for a future without the other person's control, the singer is still trapped until that day arrives.
I'm gonna take all I can take, oh babe
Making the most of the current situation, while the singer waits for a chance to break free from the abusive chain.
Oh!
Expressing frustration and desperation at the singer's current situation.
(Chain, chain, chain, chain, chain, chain, chain)
Another reminder of the singer's entrapment and lack of freedom.
(Chain, chain, chain)
Repeating the theme of being trapped in a chain.
Oh-oh!
Emphasizing the urgency and emotion behind the singer's desire for change.
(Chain, chain, chain, -ain, ain, ain, ain)
Further emphasizing the theme of being trapped in a chain, while also adding a catchy, rhythmic element to the song's outro.
Your chain of fools
An acknowledgement of the other person's role in the singer's entrapment and emotional damage.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Don Covay
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
haworthhoarder
Eva was one of those rare "once every generation" singers. What is so impressive about her is that she could cover every genre of music with equally stupendous results. Almost every cover she did was better than the original.
Dhammadeep Bhagat
Totally agree.
CriticalListener
Terrific version, but nobody outdoes Aretha with this!
cindy Queen
Bullshit, Aretha owns this!
Vann Turner Salch
Aretha Franklin
Own's This
Please Know And Understand This!!!
Vann Turner Salch
She ain't No Queen Of Soul
No,No
Horrible Comment!!!
Jimmy Lee
Eva Cassidy has the voice of an angel. Additionally she interprets the lyrics & music with lots of emotion. I get teary everytime I listen to her version of “Over The Rainbow” & “Autumn Leaves”. We are so fortunate to enjoy her music. God bless her. RIP Eva.
Richard Patik
Fantastic cover by Eva. Such power and vulnerability and beauty all at once. This particular song shows her at her greatest vocal power and ability to connect. She was a real person, not just a great singer. You are missed, Eva.
Elisabeth Vogt
Power, vulnerability and beauty - perfect description of Eva's singing.
Vegan Vocalist
That's the loveliest discription of her