A VOICE FROM THE PAST HITS IT BIG.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer At first glance, everything's coming up roses for North Hollywood's Blix Street Records. The tiny label has an album at the top of the British charts, steadily increasing sales in the U.S. and mounting attention from the media. There's just one problem: The label's biggest-selling artist, gifted Washington, D.C., singer Eva Cassidy, died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Cassidy died before hitting her peak, but the posthumous post·hu·mous adj. 1. Occurring or continuing after one's death: a posthumous award. 2. Published after the writer's death: a posthumous book. 3. compilation, ``Songbird'' (Blix Street), which includes a sweet, heartbreaking heart·break·ing adj. 1. Causing overwhelming grief or distress. 2. Producing a strong emotional reaction: heartbreaking loveliness. reading of ``Over the Rainbow,'' put her on the map. The 1998 album sold almost 1 million copies in Britain and the rest of Europe, hitting No. 1 in the U.K. and Ireland. ``It's hard to explain why she's such a hit,'' said Blix Street founder Bill Straw, who named his label after the North Hollywood street where the company is located. ``There's the poignancy of Eva's story and her technique, but there's also something about her persona that comes through clearly. And it doesn't have anything to do with language because countries all over the world are getting into the record.'' By all accounts, Cassidy was an eclectic, hard-to-pigeonhole artist able to put across a wide range of styles. The Washington Post said she ``could sing anything - folk, blues, pop, jazz, r&b, gospel - and make it sound like it was the only music that mattered,'' which helps explain why the Washington Area Music Awards Not to be confused with the SF Weekly Music Awards (sometimes also referred to as the Wammies). The Washington Area Music Awards (also known as the Wammies) are a music award for Washington, D.C. area performers, issued by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA). honored her as best female vocalist in four separate categories: blues, jazz-contemporary, jazz-traditional and roots rock/traditional r&b. ``I'd put her up there with Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later nicknamed Lady Day (see "Jazz royalty" regarding similar nicknames), was an American jazz singer, a seminal influence on jazz and pop singers, and generally regarded as one of the ,'' said Maryland-based singer Grace Griffith, a friend of Cassidy and fellow Blix Street recording artist. ``She was the greatest singer I've ever heard. And she never knew how good she was.'' During her short life, Cassidy flew well below the music industry's radar. She never performed outside her home turf, although she developed a loyal hometown audience. She was never signed by a major label, and her work was ignored by virtually all commercial radio stations. But since her death, she's become a cult favorite on these shores and a best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best artist overseas. ``What she sang was always full of hope and beauty, but she had no use for the commercial pop world,'' says Hugh Cassidy, the late singer's father, a metal sculptor who lives in Bowie, Md. Along with the 10-track ``Songbird songbird Any oscine passerine (suborder Passere), all of which have a complex vocal organ, the syrinx. Some species (e.g., thrushes) produce melodious songs; others (e.g., crows) have a harsh voice; and some do little or no singing. See also birdsong. ,'' Blix Street has issued three other Cassidy albums: ``Live at Blues Alley Blues Alley, founded in 1965[1], is a dinner and jazz nightclub in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood. The club is tucked away in an alley, off of Wisconsin Avenue, in an 18th-century carriage house. ,'' ``Eva by Heart'' and ``Time After Time.'' The latter disc features an unusual remake of the Box Tops The Box Tops were a Memphis pop music group of the late 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Soul Deep" and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. gem ``The Letter,'' as well as a strong version of ``Ain't No Sunshine,'' the Bill Withers withers the region over the backline where the neck joins the thorax and where the dorsal margins of the scapulae lie just below the skin. fistulous withers see fistulous withers. classic. ``She had a lot of substance over style,'' Straw says. ``And something in her voice really tugs at the heart.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Singer Eva Cassidy didn't live long enough to see the fame her recording of ``Over the Rainbow'' garnered. |
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