Eva Cassidy

SB Alec (Ridge Road Silverbacks) sends out a weekly email that includes a favorite piece of music.

“Well hey, we’re going from Black Music History Month to Women’s Music History Month here on Sing! It will be another four weeks of musical riches! As soon as I mentioned women singers, my wife Denise said, “Eva Cassidy.” Here is Eva’s cover of the Don Covay song “Chain of Fools.” Aretha’s version was the #1 R&B song for a month in ’67. Denise said, “Eva sings it as well as Aretha.” That’s high praise since Aretha lives on Denise’s top shelf. If you wonder about this choice for women’s history month, I get it. It’s a song about a woman who is one in a long line of fools for a man. Well… who hasn’t been a fool for somebody at one time or another–maybe it’s the first step to personal liberation. Anyway… if nothing else, the Motown beat will make you want to dance around the breakfast table (video is good, too). 

“It’s possible you haven’t heard of Eva Cassidy. Sadly, she died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. She was relatively unknown outside Washington, D.C. until a couple years after her death when a D.J. played her cover of Sting’s “Fields of Gold” in England. The response from listeners was one long, standing “O” that went on until her album Songbird was released and went to the top of the charts. Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton became fans, and the rest is somewhat obscure history. She sang “Chain of Fools” in January, 1996 at Blues Alley in D.C. and passed away in November. If you become a fan like Paul and Eric, Eva’s wonderful band made an interesting documentary about that famous session at Blues Alley, Eva–One Night that Changed Everything. When she sings, she excites every “feeling” molecule I have. “

Here it is: