EVA CASSIDY I SVERIGE
[EVA CASSIDY IN SWEDEN]
Välkommen till Eva Cassidy i Sverige. Alltsedan Sveriges television visade dokumentären om Eva har intresset bara ökat. Här kan Du läsa litet om den svenska "Eva-effekten". Om Du gillar Eva, glöm inte att sprida budskapet vidare till vänner och bekanta!
April 2003: Eva's album SONGBIRD has earned a gold record in Sweden! In the past few months, I have published so many paragraphs about Eva's growing popularity in Sweden, I am transferring those news items to this special archive page entitled "Eva in Sweden." They are listed chronologically, beginning with the first notice taken of Eva Cassidy in Sweden, by Magnus Eriksson in 2000. Following that, a pause of a few years.... then the broadcast of the television documentary brought Eva to everybody!
Many thanks to Mona and Torbjörn for their many Swedish to English translations (and the Swedish paragraph above). They are surely Sweden's first and foremost Eva Cassidy fans!
JANUARY 2003:
A documentary about Eva Cassidy is scheduled to be shown on Swedish television. It will be the 17-minute program originally filmed for ABC "Nightline" in the United States, written and narrated by David Marash, followed by video clips of Eva in performance at Blues Alley.
January 5, 2003: The newspaper Aftonbladet published this marvelous article by Jens Peterson . Torbjörn translated it into English for me, but if you read Swedish you can read the article by following this link. Here is the English version. I really shouldn't print the entire article here, but I can't help it, it's all wonderful:
'I promise, you will be looking for Eva Cassidy!
It will start on Friday. The Swedes will go out hunting for records by Eva Cassidy.
On Thursday evening, SVT will show a program about this remarkable singer.Eva Cassidy died on November 1996. At that time, just before she was taken badly ill with cancer, a 33 years old and unknown singer recorded a live album at Blues Alley, a jazz club in Washington DC. On it she sings "Over the rainbow" and anyone that has listened to her version, will never forget about it.
It was in and around Washington that people knew about Eva Cassidy. And there were not many of them.
She just managed to finish two CD's before she passed away.
And if an English radio producer had not happened to listen to her, she still might have been unheard and unknown of outside an inner circle of friends and relatives. But this radio producer heard her "Over the rainbow" and urged his morning radio host Terry Wogan to play the song on BBC Radio 2. Wogan gave way to the request and he as well as the English people woke up with a start.
Shortly afterwards Eva Cassidy went # 1 on the English Album Chart. The word about her spread. The Americans got curious about this unknown American topping the English sales chart. Television programs were produced about the phenomenon. The TV shows made more people and more countries discover Eva Cassidy.
The records sold and sold and sold.
But, of course, the big record companies had turned Eva Cassidy down. They did not know how to market an artist who mixed songs from all different genres. Songs by Sting and Paul Simon alternating with country, blues, jazz and folk tunes. Everything became a unity thanks to Eva Cassidy's voice and the way she arranged the songs.
The listener, indifferent to classification of music, can hear it.
But the record companies could not.
Ironically, after Eva Cassidy's death, other female singers have had big success just by crossing the borders of genre. The jazzy Diana Krall picks songs from many directions. Cole Porter and Irwing Berlin are mixed with Billy Joel, Michael Franks and Burt Bacharach. And this year's discovery Norah Jones puts Hoagy Carmichael and the legend of country music, Hank Williams, side by side.
The last song Eva Cassidy performed was a heartbreaking version of "Wonderful world," described by witnesses in the TV program. Another rendition could be heard on "Live at Blues Alley. "
You don't know yet.
But on Friday you will go out in the winter cold and search for CD's by Eva Cassidy. The collection "Songbird" is a good start but "Time after time," "Eva by heart" and "Live at Blues Alley" are also fine. Recently "Imagine" was released, which contains recordings found after her death.'
Andrew at Hot Records would like to thank the following people for their FANTASTIC work on getting Eva on Swedish TV:
Liza Nilsson-Berthelsen
Birgitta Thofelt
Ulla-Britt Edergren
Magnus Eriksson
Niels Bierge
According to the reports I have received so far, SVT did a marvelous job. Torbjörn writes, "...A perfect landing for Eva on Swedish soil.... The program is really well produced. After the Nightline Encore, it switches directly to the Blues Alley concert without disturbances from neither Swedish commentators nor text-lines." Not only did SVT show all six video clips from Bryan McCulley's Blues Alley video, they also included "some thrilling patter, jokes and action on stage between the songs." When the video clips were broadcast in the UK, the between-song activity was edited out. (To get an idea of what the Swedish fans got to see, that the UK has not, read my article about "You've Changed." Alas, these videotaped songs have never been shown in their entirety in the United States.)
Alas, I have received more than a few e-mails from U.S. fans who are upset that the rest of the world has been able to see video clips that have not been shown in the United States. "I feel cheated," wrote Linda, and who indeed could blame her? Let me assure everybody that there is not a conspiracy afoot to deprive North American fans of these video clips -- the sad truth is that the U.S. television companies don't seem to WANT to show them. What can we do about that? I do not know, but if I get any good ideas, I'll share them!
I e-mailed David Marash at ABC to let him know how well his "Nightline" documentary about Eva has been received in Sweden. I asked him to tell producer Madhulika Sikka, and the rest of the team who worked on the program, about it also. He wrote back (I didn't ask his permission to reprint this message, but I am sure he won't mind): "Thanks for this good news. I've passed the message on to Madhulika. I do occasionally stop by the site. It continues to be excellent. Thanks for that, too." If you are interested in some of the history of the "Nightline" documentary and its original broadcast in 2001, visit the "Nightline Page."
From Norway, a couple of items: Quite a few people have been linking to my website from this Norwegian national radio website and its article about Eva: http://www.nrk.no/magasin/musikk/plater/2454724.html. Henrik in Denmark has translated it -- the headline is "Eva Cassidy Wave in Sweden." "Last week Swedish TV1 showed the concert recording with the deceased singer Eva Cassidy. The day after the show, her records sold out completely in record shops all over Sweden.... After the concert and documentary were shown on Swedish tv last week, the web site www.evacassidy.org has experienced an explosive increase in the number of hits by Swedish visitors. The effect the American singer's fate has had on the Swedish tv viewers is evident...." The article then quoted a sampling of Guestbook entries by the new Swedish fans.
Marten W. wrote to tell me more Swedish chart information -- 'Eva Cassidy has really made an impact in Sweden. Today "Songbird" comes directly into the Album charts on 6th place and "Imagine" is a newcomer at 39th place. AND everything points at her getting more albums into the chart next week and "Songbird" is predicted to reach number one if the record company can produce enough CD´s to meet the demand! 320 000 persons saw the documentary on Swedish TV and with all the publicity and the airtime her songs now get on the radio, I predict more than 500 000 watching it on 14th feb. (Remember that we are just under 9 million in Sweden so 320 000 is many viewers!)
H2>August 2003:
YET ANOTHER from the Aftonbladet, August 16th, here.
Headline: Eva Cassidy lives on.
For years he was told she was too hard to place for the record buying public, because she melded various musical styles.
- Now the record company people are realizing that they made a mistake. She would probably have had a recording contract if she had been tougher, but Eva was shy and humble, he says....
- I listened to her music a lot after her death. Time Is a Healer became a kind of song of comfort to me. Time will prove me right when I say that she will be regarded as one of the greatest female vocalists of our time, says Chris Biondo.
- Eva’s music has made the world a better place, says Chris Biondo.
That her breakthrough was late in coming Biondo attributes to a combination of various factors. Among other things the record companies found her difficult to market because of her constant vacillation between various musical styles, neither did she have the aggressiveness and drive required to make it in this tough business.
On the contrary she was very withdrawn and shy. Yet Biondo has no doubt that she would nonetheless have been able to enjoy her success.
- You cannot have so many people love your music without finding it a good thing in some ways. I think she would have liked the financial independence, liked meeting fans who loved her music. But on the other hand I don’t think she would have felt especially good about doing all the other things that go with being a major artist - performing on TV shows, being in a talk show, giving interviews and talking about herself.
Being on stage was one of the things Eva Cassidy was not particularly fond of. She would much rather spend her time in the studio. This is the reason there is a very substantial archive of recordings, many of which are waiting to be discovered. Biondo promises that there is much more “new” music to look forward to for those who discovered Cassidy this year.
Producer and ex-boyfriend Chris Biondo loves her voice but does not think the singer would have approved of this release.
- No, she was a perfectionist and would no doubt have wanted to record new versions.
Eva Cassidy’s career is a bit strange as her breakthrough only came after her death in 1996, when she was just thirty-three. Since then the shy singer has sold millions of albums worldwide and 80,000 units in Sweden.
Chris Biondo has a recording studio in his own house where he used to record local bands. In 1986, Eva Cassidy, then 23 years old, was going to do the vocal tracks for the soft rock group Method Actor. But she was so nervous she was afraid to enter the studio.
- I went out to her, and it got a little tense between us, because I was so direct. But we became friends during the recording sessions. When she sang her harmonies I realized that she was the best female vocalist I had ever worked with.
Four years later they became a couple and moved together. Their relationship lasted three years, but their collaboration continued even after it broke up.
- She became my best friend though it was hard to be friends with someone you loved. I wanted to marry her, but she said no and wanted to be independent.
How would you describe her?
- Her best trait was that she never wanted to say anything bad about anybody. She was considerate, very shy and didn’t feel at ease in a crowd. But once you got to know her, she was more outgoing. She never understood how good she was.
Was she really as shy as they say?
- Yes, instead of talking to the audience she would stare into the floor. She was afraid she might say something stupid.
Chris Biondo played the bass on the songs just released and remembers what a high time they had playing these live performances caught on tape, especially on those occasions when Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood sat in.
- I just couldn’t get over the fact that one of the most successful musicians ever was playing with us in a club with an audience of six people. It was bizarre. He really liked Eva Cassidy.
Does it get your goat when ‘The Independent on Sunday’ in its review of the record says that Eva Cassidy is an ‘incredibly talented karaoke singer’?
- Millions cannot be so mistaken about Eva when they love her voice. The guy who wrote that is an idiot, says an exasperated Chris Biondo.
- It is an easy job for me to travel and spread knowledge about her, cause I really believe in it. When I say that Eva is the best singer I´ve ever heard, that´s my opinion. No doubt about it. And I know her music has made the world a better place. She makes people happy, he says.
Biondo mentions a couple of factors why her break-through took so long. The record companies had problems marketing her due to her constant genre cross-overs, neither did she have the aggressivness that is needed in this tough business. She was more shy and standing in the back. But Biondo never doubts she would have enjoyed the success.
- You can´t have this many people loving your music like this and not find something good in it. I think she would have been content with financial independence, and pleased to meet fans that love her music. But I don´t think she would be comfortable doing all the other stuff that comes with being a great artist - doing TV shows, talkshows, giving interviews and talk about herself. Eva didn´t prefer to be on stage. She rather spent time in the studio. There´s a large number of recordings, many yet to be released. Biondo promises that those who have found Eva the past year can look forward to more "new" music later on. There is a lot of material, both live recordings, demo recordings and studio sessions. I would think there is an other record out in about a year, he says.'
NOVEMBER 2004: DVD REVIEW: In Sweden, critic Magnus Eriksson wrote in Svenska Dagbladet on November 6, "According to a widely spread prejudice among music critics, it is more valuable for an artist to write his/her own songs instead of performing others. Too bad no one told Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis or Sinatra. For jazz singers it may be safer to sing their own songs than standards. Because, when they interpret standards, they have to add something new. You can read below about singers of different genres, all of them created indispensable music when they met songs of others: Eva Cassidy sings: At last the amateur video of Eva Cassidy’s concerts at the Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington DC, January 1996, has been released on dvd. It contains twice as many songs as were shown on Swedish Television last year. Eva Cassidy’s repertoire included almost everything and stretched from jazz standards to folk songs and pop, from Cheek to cheek and Tall trees in Georgia to Somewhere over the rainbow . But she put her own unique profile on everything. Ten months after the Blues Alley concerts she was dead." (Translation from Mona and Torbjörn)
"We nearly missed the article in Allas. That particular issue (#51) happened to be wrapped in plastics with tiny Christmas decorations attached so we couldn't explore the content. It was only yesterday that we came across the right copy.
The article is a sweet tribute to Eva and it is perfectly well adapted to Allas' readers and its traditional content. In fact, it's so fluently and personally written that it deserves a professional translation. I'll ask Henrik! The article emphasizes on Eva's good qualities both as a singer and as a human being and summarizes the most important parts of Eva's biography and her late success. You are quoted as well as Chris and Ruth Murphy. Two photos: one from the Blues Alley concert and the other with Eva and Chris sitting on a doorstep with a black and white cat (you know which!). The journalist, who has done a great job, is Agata Garpenlind Cronqvist." CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE 'WHAT'S NEW PAGE'
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