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.
Tennessee Waltz
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Tennessee waltz
When an old friend I happened to meet
I introduced her to my darling
And while they were dancing
My friend stole my sweetheart from me
I remember the night
And the Tennessee waltz
I know now just what I have lost
Yes I lost my little darling
The night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee waltz
I remember the night
And the Tennessee waltz
I know now just what I have lost
Yes I lost my little darling
The night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee waltz
Oh the beautiful Tennessee waltz
The lyrics in Eva Cassidy's song "Tennessee Waltz" tell a heart-wrenching story of losing a lover to a friend. The singer describes a night when she was dancing with her partner to the beautiful Tennessee waltz when she encountered an old friend. As she introduced her friend to her partner, they continued to dance, and suddenly the singer's friend stole her lover away from her. The lyrics are reflective and full of sadness as the singer recounts the night when she lost her little darling to the captivating rhythms of the Tennessee waltz.
The Tennessee waltz is a popular dance, traditionally associated with country music. The song resonates with many people because of its relatable theme of betrayal and heartache. The lyrics are simple, yet they evoke deep emotions in the listener. The singer's mournful, soulful voice adds to the song's emotional depth, making it a timeless classic.
The Tennessee Waltz by Eva Cassidy was never officially released as a single, but it was featured on her 1997 album, "Eva by Heart." However, the song has been a fan favorite since her death and continues to be popular around the world. It's a testament to the power of music to evoke emotions and connect people across borders and time.
Line by Line Meaning
I was dancing with my darling
I was enjoying a dance with my beloved
To the Tennessee waltz
We were gracefully moving to the tune of a romantic melody known as the Tennessee waltz
When an old friend I happened to meet
Suddenly, I met an acquaintance of mine
I introduced her to my darling
I took this opportunity to acquaint my friend with my beloved
And while they were dancing
As they both began to dance together
My friend stole my sweetheart from me
Sadly, my friend managed to win over my beloved, leaving me alone and heartbroken
I remember the night
The night is still imprinted in my memory
And the Tennessee waltz
I associate the night with the Tennessee waltz, a tune that reminds me of my heartbreak
I know now just what I have lost
Upon reflection, I now understand what I have lost – my beloved
Yes I lost my little darling
It is true that I have lost the one I loved dearly – my little darling
The night they were playing
The night was filled with music and dancing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz
But, what stands out for me the most is the hauntingly beautiful melody of the Tennessee waltz
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Redd Stewart, Pee Wee King
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind