Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 in Washington, DC – November 2, 1996 in… Read Full Bio ↴Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 in Washington, DC – November 2, 1996 in Bowie, Maryland) was an American vocalist described by the British newspaper The Guardian as "one of the greatest voices of her generation." She had a diverse repertoire of jazz, blues, folk, gospel and pop. Cassidy remained virtually unknown outside of her native Washington, DC, when she died of melanoma (which had spread to her bones) in 1996. Her posthumously released recordings have since sold in excess of four million copies, and in early 2001 the compilation album Songbird reached #1 on the UK album charts.

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.

Way Beyond the Blue
Eva Cassidy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Way beyond the blue

Oh I got a home in glory land
That outshines the sun
Oh I got a home in glory land
That outshines the sun
Oh I got a home in glory land
That outshines the sun
Way beyond the blue

Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Oh do You remember me
Way beyond the blue

Way beyond the blue
Way beyond the blue

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Eva Cassidy's song "Way Beyond the Blue" are a beautiful and soulful expression of faith and hope, centered around the idea of a home in "glory land" that shines brighter than the sun. The repetition of the phrase "do Lord oh do Lord" adds a sense of urgency to the song, as if the singer is imploring the Lord to remember them and to lead them to this glorious home. The repetition of the phrase "way beyond the blue" reinforces the sense of distance and longing for a better place, a place that is out of reach but still holds the promise of fulfillment and joy.

The powerful emotional impact of this song is enhanced by the simple yet stirring melody, which is based on the traditional African-American spiritual "Do Lord". Eva Cassidy's rendition of the song, with her clear and soulful voice, brings out the spiritual depth and beauty of the words, and imbues the song with a sense of personal connection and authenticity. As a result, the song speaks not only to listeners who share the singer's faith, but also to those who appreciate the power of music to express universal emotions and aspirations.

Overall, "Way Beyond the Blue" is a testament to the enduring power of spiritual music, and to the ability of great artists like Eva Cassidy to uplift and inspire their listeners with their talent and passion.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh do Lord oh do Lord
Asking the Lord if he remembers the singer

Oh do You remember me
The singer wonders if the Lord remembers them

Do Lord oh do Lord
Repeating the request to the Lord to remember the singer

Oh do You remember me
The artist asks the Lord again if he remembers them

Way beyond the blue
Describing an unknown, distant place

Oh I got a home in glory land
The singer has a home in a heavenly place

That outshines the sun
The singer's home in heaven is more radiant than the sun

Oh I got a home in glory land
Repeating the description of the artist's heavenly home

That outshines the sun
Describing how bright and radiant the artist's heavenly home is

Oh I got a home in glory land
Again emphasizing that the artist's home is in heaven

Way beyond the blue
Repeating the description of the unknown, distant place