JOHAN BAKKER

Johan Bakker does an excellent job of bringing Eva Cassidy, to the front of the stage where she belongs. The scenes that helped shape this extraordinary singer are presented in vivid detail, from a first performance where she knocks over a microphone to her last where she breaks the hearts of her devoted fans. With photos and song details not available anywhere else this book is a must for those who have listened to "how the angels must sing in heaven". The book is not long - less than two-hundred pages as was her life - 33 years. It's not quantity but quality that counts in all things.

The US American singer Eva Cassidy was avoiding the limelight, never been comfortable with live performances, and enjoyed working in the studio. Eva was shy, introverted, extremely self-critical, melancholic and troubled all of her life: I don't need to be famous, she said, and little wonder she never achieved any fame during her short lifetime.

Eva's grandfather Karl came from the German spa town Bad Kreuznach, where his daughter met an American soldier (whose second cousin, actor Henry Gibson played the Nazi chief in "Blues Brothers"). Eva Cassidy was born in 1963 in Washington DC.

Johan Bakker, Behind The Rainbow - The Tragic Life Of Eva Cassidy. Omnibus Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-78038- 231-9, pp198, £16.95.

Eva Cassidy @ Folk-World: FW#45, #49

On April 2, 1978 Eva had her first ever performance with the family trio, her brother Dan on the fiddle and her father Hugh on mandolin and electric bass, at the Fleet Reserve Club in Annapolis, Maryland.

Eva was mortified by a falling microphone and began to cry. This awkward start became a bad omen: Eva would struggle with performing for the rest of her life.

Eva started performing regularly at weddings and bar mitzvahs with a Top 40 band, even played heavy metal and prog rock, but soon she began to realize that she created her best work alone, only supported by the small line-up of the Eva Cassidy Band.

Not only that Eva had a preference for songs that lamented death and lost love ...

... An even greater problem was her stage presence: she just stood there. She held her guitar or her microphone and looked at the floor for the greater part of the evening. Most of the time she merely offered a polite Thank you. To give the band a vocal stage presence, [guitarist] Keith [Grimes] was asked to introdice them and then each song, which made some in the audience feel uneasy. When Keith talked, Eva would take a step back, coming forward only to sing again.

So it was difficult to find a label and make a record. Her music was also much too diverse. Eva responded by saying that she liked to sing songs she loved and that all she knew was the difference between a good and a bad song.

That nearly was it. Eva played her final gig at the sports bar in Annapolis in July 1996:

For the authorised biography "Eva Cassidy: Songbird" the family lawyer assisted in arranging all the interviews: The book was designed to promote a positive image of Eva, essentially little more than a PR exercise. Behind The Rainbow though claims to be an investigating and enlightening biography, and sure it is. Dutch journalist Johan Bakker took to the task, interviewed Eva’s friends, colleagues and family and evaluates Eva's brief performing career and her posthumous fame. The story behind the voice - a touching account not only for Eva Cassidy aficionados!