An emotional performance. Reaction & Vocal Analysis of Eva Cassidy singing Over the Rainbow
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- Some performances make you feel like time is standing still... and this is one of them. Today we're watching Eva Cassidy's breathtaking cover of Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.
Watch the original video uninterrupted: • Eva Cassidy - Over The...
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Her phrasing is just impeccable.
When she performs she owns these songs ....
I can't hear Eva Cassidy without choking up, she is such a beautiful soul.
Rest in Peace dear lady.
The same here. Such a loss!
Where she has gone she is richly frolicking (not resting).
I was driving with my mom the first time I heard this, in fact the first time I ever heard of Eva Cassidy. We thought this was the most beautiful version of this song that I actually cried a bit. It was so special to hear this with my mom, and we had such a nice moment that I had this played at the end of my mom's funeral. It was so special.
Too Beautiful for words!
I heard Eva for the first time in a record shop in Martha’s Vineyard playing through the speakers in the store. I asked the shop owner who was singing and she said Eva Cassidy. It was the most beautiful voice I ever heard and bought a CD on the spot! RIP beautiful girl.
I would have bought every selection available.
Slow learners are everywhere.
She was friends with Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, who, via his contacts, and after much persuasion, managed to get her to go to a meeting with a record company in New York. She came back in tears saying, "they want to turn me into something I'm not..." and never tried again. That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the modern music business...😡
She was still fighting the tail end of a cold that night. There were a couple of times she couldn't quite round it out - or it dropped out on her a little (there at the very end). But damn - I hear nothing but angels, and I cry every time.
The best.
Gordon Sumner (Sting for those that don't know) publicly said in an interview that she performed Fields of gold better than he ever did ... That is how good she is/was. Thankfully through the web her soul and music will live forever. I saw her live at The Blues Alley and I left happy but emotional... The world really lost a true magnificent singer when she passed away. ❤
Why don’t you just refer to him as Sting?
@@oggyoggy1299 If you have to ask you wouldn't understand. Just leave it at that.
And that’s very high praise from him. Because he’s not a fan of people covering his songs
And just to be clear, his original version of the song was damned good in it's own right.
You heard her live??? At Blues Alley??? I'm so glad for you, and so jealous, too.
Her guitar is subtle. Her phrasing is subtle. Her choices of chord changes are subtle. It makes this performance beyond beautiful.
Terry Wogan brought Eva Cassidy into popularity after she died by playing her CD on the radio. The whole CD is hauntingly beautiful and one of my favourites.
Exactly. RIP Terry and Eva.
I think it was his producer paul walters that found her amazing talent, but yes it was for the Wogan show. I think Pauly picked all the music for Wogan, even when he went into care before he passed.
@@simoncutts8570 MIck Fleetwood likely had something to do with it. He was a big fan.
Eva didn't just sing the song. She was the song! It embodied her heart and her soul, And she emoted in a way I've never seen. A master storyteller. Not to mention a phenomenal guitarist. The tone of this arrangement and the fact that she passed within a year of the performance is haunting in a strange way. The way her eyes seem to look up and off into the distance is just as haunting. She was a legend even in her short time and more people need to know about her. Who knows what she would have been if she were still alive. RIP Eva Cassidy.
Speaking of how eva was looking and staring, look at the vocalist watching her. Very telling. Everybody seems to have the same type of reaction to EC.
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 absolutely beautiful thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭💫💫💖💖
I'm a 65 year old metal head, and this performance calls the onion ninjas here every. damn. time.
Right there with ya, my beard brother. Your only a couple years in front of me. My CDs include BOC, Thin Lizzy, etc AND Eva Cassidy.
Onion ninjas? Love it!
The onion ninjas.... Ha!
Yes. Of all the versions, and I’ll always love the voice of the greatJudy Garland singing this, but this one is just sooo evocative and sublimely beautiful.
The songs that Eva sings sound like it's the first time you've heard the song. She gives them her personality. Accompanied by perfect guitar.
Thank you for showcasing Eva Cassidy, one of the best vocalists ever! She and Karen Carpenter left us way too soon... 😢. ☮️❤️😎
So very true...both where top notch in my opinion!
Karen Carpenter was good.
So is a sirloin steak.
Ever had prime filet mignon?
A good friend’s family owned the nursery where Eva worked for more than a dozen years. She worked outdoors in nice weather, but he mostly recalls the holidays when Eva would sing like an angel in the flower shop while making arraignments. I am envious that he got to experience such loveliness so often.
thanks for posting that image its very kind
Behnke's! My late wife worked there, not at the same time but she heard the stories of her singing. And my daughter is named after her. Anyone who knew her also knew how special she was.
Eva was always amazing…I’m a 55 year old man and I’ve heard the song a thousand times…but my eyes were already tearing up a bit before she finished the first line.
I love it when singing experts and vocal coaches are left speechless by Eva. This is one of the greatest vocal performances of all time and almost no one saw it. Thank God it was filmed! As a singer myself I'm especially appreciative of how she can sing softly without any wavering of pitch. That is one of the hardest things to do. RIP Eva - you are the best
I look at her beautiful yet, haunted face during that performance, and see a need to leave the world her story. She did that and more. Such a precious gift to us all. God bless her!
Eva Cassidy is like a perfect wine. The more you drink it the more your palate gets used to it. Then the $25 wine you enjoyed drinking before, now tastes like vinegar. If you listen to Eva Cassidy long enough, you will start finding flaws in other singers. Your ears will calibrate to perfection; because she is the perfect singer with the perfect voice.
Eva's father taught her how to play guitar. This is my favorite version of this iconic song. Her phrasing is so original. Her refusal to sign with a record label was certainly partly because she wanted to remain diverse in what she wanted to sing rather than be grouped in any single genre. Eva is truly one of the greatest voices to come upon the music scene. It is ironic that she became more well known after she passed away because she didn't really care to be fussed over (from accounts from people who really knew her). Thank you for the reaction to this remarkable singer.
Live and playing a guitar as she sings. That plus a unique interpretation of a classic. Genius.
Listening to Eva you realize that OMG really means something.
It's so heartbreaking that we lost Eva Cassidy at only 33 years of age. This video is from 1996 which is the year she passed on November 2 from melanoma cancer. Such a sweet voice of an angel and now she's an angel up in heaven singing with the other angels. Rest in Peace Eva Marie Cassidy February 2 1963 to November 2 1996.
If only Eva could have known how millions would enjoy this performance. Greatest solo vocal and instrumental performance ever, in my humble opinion that is.
She turned it into a lullaby that could make us all cry, and feel truly loved.
This was the first Eva Cassidy song I heard and by the end (actually, way before the end) I was an emotional wreck due to the combination of her jaw-dropping performance and knowing that she passed away from metastatic melanoma just a few months after this was filmed (and to add insult to injury...prior to her music going "viral" in the US and Europe). She is one of the greatest female vocalists I've ever heard. Her vocal tone, control and phrasing were incredible and her guitar playing, interesting and sophisticated arrangements and emotional connection to the songs brought her performances to another level. RIP Eva.
Check out Lucy Thomas version sang as a tribute to Eva, You ain't heard nothing yet !!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I will, thanks!
@@wilburfinnigan2142are you her agent or something🤔
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I've heard Lucy's version. It is nice, she hits the notes - albeit more runs and trills than are necessary - but the girl has no heart. She doesn't have the emotive quality that Eva had. I doubt anyone will ever be able to touch Eva's rendition. Also, Eva sang a duet with her Guild guitar as her duet partner. An accompanist can't ever get the feel, speed or phrasing that Eva felt, playing and singing on her guitar. As I stated, Lucy did a nice tribute, but it is just that. Nobody will ever be able to sing Over The Rainbow like Eva. Rest in peace, Songbird.
I was in the military stationed in the UK when she suddenly became very popular due to the Top of the Pops show. About 10 years later, after my father's death, his brother came for the funeral. My uncle was a jazz musician in his youth, so I asked if he had heard of Eva Cassidy before. He had not, so I went through an old box I had put some CDs in and put the Songbird album on for him. Even though his brother had just been buried, this exact song you're playing now brought a smile to his face. He is gone now too, but I still smile thinking about that day sitting on the porch with my uncle after the funeral.
Eva and Judy Garland both sing this song so very differently. Judy is young, on a farm in Kansas, in a family and situation that she will soon long to go back to. Her dreams are the dreams of a child wanting adventure. Eva puts so much regret and adult experience into this performance. Both versions are on another planet. IMO this is the best song ever written for a musical.
There are so many talented singers and musicians in the world, but Eva was in a universe of her own. Pure beauty, pure emotion, pure voice. We were very lucky to have her here for the short time she was on this earth. Thank you Eva.
This is - in my opinion - the best cover of this song. Ever! This live prefotmance makes me cry. Every time. So much soul and emotions in this....
Yeah but have you heard my cover yet? LOL
@@TheProtestantPope nope.
And she was pretty sick to boot
YOU obviously have not heard Lucy Thomas's tribute version of the song yet, check her out and have YOUR mind changed !! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 *_NO WAY GREATEST RENDITION RIGHT HERE BY EVA CASSIDY BETTER THAN JUDY GARLAND’S AND THE HAWAIIAN DUDE_*
Wonder if the audience that night knew what history they were experiencing? Not many artists can perform like this with just a guitar and reinterpret songs of all genres, exceed the original version and do it over and over again, achieving such excellent. And apparently she didn't realize what she accomplished.
Truly an angel on earth. Wished could have experienced her performance.
Its the tenderness, longing and vulnerability all at the same time that makes this and her exceptional.
60 years ago my mother would sing this to my 4 year old sister as she was dying from a brain tumour, it was my mother’s way of telling her it will pass and the pain will leave her. It still reduces her to tears when ever she hears this song, even at 93 the pain she felt is still as consuming as it was during that dreadful time. The power of love for a lost child and the music that connects us to them is a powerful thing.
She sings from her soul.
Eva performed several acoustic songs. As I feel and hear this - her Over The Rainbow - she stands so high above every other person who has tried to cover the song by making it her journey. She takes us, her audience, on her journey as individual confidants. She goes to a place inside that I imagine not many are allowed to view.
It took a few times of listening to discover this is a duet. After I got to the acceptance of how pure and heartfelt her singing is, I realized her guitar was her singing partner, singing warmly, in euphonious chorus with her. Her Guild and her touch on its strings are, indeed, her duet partner. No accompanist could have done the same.
Nobody will ever be able to reach the depths of my soul such as Eva did with her journey Over The Rainbow.
How can anyone be this amazing ? 😓🌹
One of the most pure voices of all time. Perfection.
So many people have done this song ... and this is IMO the best version.
I always turn into a pile of goo (either howling or crying) during that last "Somewhere over the rainbow" run where she lets it all out. All my hairs stand up on end. I know I'm in the presence of genius.
When you listen to Eva Cassidy cover a familiar song it is like hearing it again for the first time.
I like her rendition of "Autumn Leaves" in particular.
From the same night? Yes, it's every bit as good as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Definitely worth checking out.
Yes, it is SO beautiful 🙂
have been playing over 30years and never heard a better version of autumn leaves ... its perfect ...
Bethany, a real treat. Such a wonderful performance and performer. Also, this is bittersweet - echoing another's comment, like Karen Carpenter at almost the same age, one of the great tragedies in American music so short a time with us.
Eva Cassidy's estate has allowed for some of her performances to be rerecorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and they are extraordinary. Her version of Buffy Saint Marie's 'Tall Trees In Georgia' is simply gorgeous.
I LOVE this performance. Eva almost always causes me to tear up. FEW singers have that effect on me.
Life can be so unfair. Eva should have been big, a real star. Instead she died just when she was getting a break. So sad. Thanks for listening to her and bringing la Cassidy to a wider public. She deserves it.
I don't think she would have wanted to be a big star.
She had one of the best voices of our time.
Eva , a guitar and a mic ... pure gold
Eva Cassidy molds songs we know so well. She makes those song all her own. Interpreting a song is a wonderful art, and Eva does it so well. She has broken my heart. My heart is broken again, to know that she has passed us by, on her way to Heaven.
The one For Me that was Absolutely Amazing was Her cover of Christine Mc vie 's ( RIP )( Songbird) 😁👍👍😎🎶🎵🎸
The like button 🔘 has been Illuminated 😀
Her phrasing makes this rendition so unique and effective👌
Aaaah, Eva Cassidy, such an original singer, leaving out glamorous appearances, and fluff. Just herself, with voice and a guitar.
Bethany, are you going to react to Eva's interpretation of "Fields of Gold" too, please?
This song is composed by Sting, his voice is great too, but Eva turns it into true gold.
She gave it all, before passing over, an angel leaving planet Earth. 🧡🧚♀️
I've both seen and heard that Sting said Eva's rendition of "Fields of Gold" is better than his own.
Now, Dorothy dear stop even imagining things. You always get yourself into a fret over nothing. Now you just help us out today and find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble.
Dorothy: (To herself) Someplace where there isn't any trouble. (To Toto) Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon... Beyond the rain.
Eva's voice is absolute perfection in every song she does. It is beyond critique. When she sings touching songs like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Fields of Gold, Autumn Leaves, she rips my heart out. Every time!! Wade in the Water shows her happy side and makes me smile. She was a gift to the world. We are blessed to have her recordings. If I could sit in a room with one singer and have my own private concert, it would be Eva. Just me, Eva, her guitar and a box of Kleenex!
I have a request in my will to have this version played at a memorial. She is incredible
Eva owned every song she covered. Thank you for mentioning her superb guitar skills.
I cry every time, it is so beautiful and about longing. Longing to live.
The greatest rendition of this classic song I have ever witnessed ! Eva emotionally charged the lyrics in such a way that brings me to tears every time I hear her beautiful voice ! Her guitar playing is so fantastic and blends so beautifully with her vocals ! Thank you for reminding me of this magnificent singer gone far too soon from us ! So much appreciated , I loved it totally and thank you from the bottom of my heart ! Keep posting you're always one of my must watch channel ! Thank from Canada ! 👍👍🇨🇦🇨🇦❤️❤️❤️
I love that Eva put the breaks in the beginning in different places than every version I've heard before. She sang a hopeful and mellow version. Simply beautiful.
Watching this wonderful reaction to this amazingly beautiful and talented lady through tears. Thank you for showcasing her incredible gift...RIP Eva!
Normally singers/musicians pulling the time around all over the place sets off my musical OCD and I hate it, but somehow she does it and it still sounds.....right. A rare talent taken too soon. All of her music is just beautiful.
I've never been able to see/hear this performance without tears rolling down my face, it is so delicate, yet so incredibly powerful.
Beyond the flawless execution and the technical brilliance is simply stunning emotion and achingly beautiful expression. Even after all these years, this still brings tears to my eyes.
Eva looks into another dimension. Her eyes reflect her very soul. And it is very very.
Omg!! I never heard of this girl til now. I am so hooked. What an incredible voice and guitar playing. Wow wow wow! Ty voice teacher.
She sings like a musician can do. So good guitarist !! She's a gardian Angel !! She felt on eath !! See what beauty can be !! Heart and soul beauty. I will always miss her !!!❤❤❤❤❤
If this were the only performance she ever gave she would still be in the hall of fame
I'm glad you commented on her guitar playing. I think Eva deserves a lot of credit for her original arrangements. She transformed the songs she sang into something new. Look at her cover of Fields of Gold- totally different than the original. Same with Time After Time. She did these beautiful arrangements to suit her guitar playing.
Just incredible. Transcendent. Tender, yet powerful. Truly a great and exceptional work of art.
Beautiful Eva…it’s as though she took a deep breath & just let her heart open wide in wistful thoughts of life’s mysteries & yearning. So human, so relatable, supremely pure & refreshing…perfection 🕊️ 💕.
Thank you so much for your analysis of Eva Cassidy's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". The thing I admire most about her, in addition to all of her skill and finesse, is her ability to re-interpret a well-known standard song and make it completely new to the listener. I skill (or gift) that I wish I possessed more of as a singer, in this day and age where copying recording artists' versions exactly is a more popular trend.
She was a total stylist. Impeccable phrasing and emotion. I can't listen to anyone else sing this song and many others she made her own.
The guitar is amazing. The way she produced it she gives the song a jass feeling, genius!
Thank you for your analysis. When I enter into Eva's world in that moment in time captured so long ago and I connect with the Oneness of existence.
I first heard her singing "Kathie's Song" (by Paul Simon) in the movie "Maid in Manhattan." I went directly to the cd store (remember those?) to find out who she was. And soon after that learned her story. What a loss! Beautiful reaction. Thank you.
Thank you Bethany its one of those songs were you just listen, feel and appreciate how special EVA was.
Such a loss.
It also brings me to tears every time lol
When you revisit, listen to Eva's breathing particularly just before the instrumental break when she sings, "that's where you'll find (breath) me". The first few times I heard this I wondered why a singer with her control breathed in a place where she obviously didn't need to. Eventually, I realized she's setting me up for the moment after the break. She needs that breath when she repeats the same phrase but with an entirely different dynamic approach.
Thank you for reacting to this incredible video. Eva is unmatched in today's music scene. Eva is just a guitar and an incredible voice with no autotune. Artists today cant touch that except for Debbii Dawson right now. She was a TALENT that was taken from this earth far too soon. I listen to her music constantly.
Her versions of Autumn Leaves and Fields of Gold are also fantastic
I'd say they are even better. To quote the late Terry Wogan 'thank goodness for someone having the sense to record her'❤
Such a vocal genius... that so few notice her absolutely incredible guitar work. So glad you acknowledge, because the dynamics and interface of guitar and voice is just stunning. Such a combination is so very, very rare.
Not one since.
We can feel your joy of music as you are educating us! Thank you for showcasing Eva. She was a rare brilliant light in her artistry, and storytelling. She transports you to another time and place. 💕
Gone too soon❤ What a phenomenal talent
You made note of "Jazz" early in your reaction. I prefer her Jazz work over all her other genres. Check out her rendition of "Cheek to Cheek". That's a true Jazz singer!
Hi Bethany! First time listener/subscriber. I found you as a result of your Burton Cummings video. So, I'll apologize up front in case I go long, but Eva is someone I think so highly of. Firstly, you mentioned her guitar playing. I agree with you that it is so good, and exactly what it needed to be for this cover. Eva, did not think she was a very good guitar player. Also, towards the end of her life, she wanted to do one more "good bye" gig to thank all her fans for their support. Just to show you the kind of person she was, the first song in that gig was "What A Wonderful World".
I've said on other channels that I feel that she was an Angel here on Earth that we all got to share. I still believe that. I feel blessed that I was alive when she was. I never got to see/meet her, but still am thankful we resided on the planet at the same time.
Anyway, thanks for the review! Look forward to others and, if I might make a suggestion for one, look up Dan Fogelberg. Kind of a similar story (died from cancer). I'd recommend both his "Souvenirs" and "Windows and Walls" albums. Peace...
She was an amazing singer .......AMAZING SINGER.
My absolute favorite version of this iconic song; RIP Eva Cassidy may the Angels enjoy your beautiful voice and music ✨💖✝️🙏🏻🇺🇸
*_THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FEMALE SINGING VOICE I’VE EVER HEARD_* 🙌🏾
Portland Oregon USA 🇺🇸
Eva has a truly delicious sound to her singing but let's not overlook the articulate, tonefull and emotionally inspired playing skills.
Love her rendition of "time after time" from same performance. You should also check out her mash-up with Angelina Jordan of Fields of Gold👍👍
That was such a beautiful rendition of this song. So sad that she is no longer with us. She died at only 33 years of age. I also love the version by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Sadly he also died young at 38 years of age. At least we have their music left as a legacy.
It breaks my heart to watch her performing now, knowing she is no longer with us. She had such a unique & magical tone, rather like another singer who had a unique effortless tone, and too was taken from us far too early, Karen carpenter. I am hopefully a long way from my time to leave this world but I have already chosen this performance of this song as my music to accompany me on my final journey ( didn’t mean for that to sound morbid, it’s just a fact about something that happens to us all eventually ).
This whole show was released on album. It is from a well know club in the US & the whole thing is brilliant but as it is the middle of the night here in the UK & I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the album (typical) but I will send you the link at a more reasonable hour when I find it.
BTW well done for keeping it together, I was watching your face & I was expecting you to cry at any moment which isn’t surprising if you feel just 50% of the way it makes me feel, I wouldn’t have been so composed. I think the performance itself is all the things you said but I think knowing her story & that she is no longer with us just magnifies all the feeling this performance generates.
I'm watching this on Easter morning. Why do I think this performance by Eva should be heard every Holiday. This is the most remarkable rendition of this classic song I've ever listened to and Eva is into it not 100% but, if possible, to a degree somewhere beyond anything we can contemplate. The way she handles the guitar is masterful. If I can have the liberty of comparing what I'm listening to, to something else it is this. Emotionally, it's like I'm listening to 'Memory' from 'Cat's' !!!
"Happy Easter", Beth.
Robert De Martem Check out Lucy Thomas's tribute version to Eva...and Lucy also sings Memories at 16.... Lucy was 17 when she sang Over the rainbow, check her out here on You Tube and be amazed !! !
Thankyou you picked up on the shear genius of this Beautiful Artist,my god what she could have given us.She’s gone but her memory will live on❤❤❤❤❤
Thank You for sharing this video.I am/was not familiar with Eva,Wow.I always thought IZ's version of the song was unbeatable,but tyhis lady proved that the best is always changing.Thank You also for analyzing the technical and physical parts that make up the whole.I am not musical,I thought people just sang,but there is much I don;t know,too bad you were not one of my English grammer teachers,you even make that interesting!
Even though she was still recovering from a head cold when she sang this shows what a wonderful vocalist she was. One of my go to voices when I need to hear beauty amongst all the noise in this world.
Please more videos on Eva - many thanks!!!
I bless the day that I discovered Eva Cassidy. What a loss her passing was. And I adore her voice, and as a once-upon-a-time guitarist, I envy her clear and sensitive guitar-playing style.
Eva plays Your heart strings
Absolute reference rendition, well, with all due respect to the other versions, this IS the Master version! Thanks God that I do not have words to describe what Eva does to me with this song each time I listen to it. I'm sure that all the blessed folks in Heaven including God just stop and listen.
Music is such a beautiful thing. Couldn't resist playing along with Eva. Her changing the Ab to Abma7 (I'm assuming my guitar is standard tuned to Eb) in spots was wonderful, she was a beautiful guitar player, and her phrasing, having us wait for the word "rainbow" was so good.
Thank you for reacting to her. New subscriber.
I hadn't seen/heard this in a while, either. Serves as a gentle reminder that I need to pick up another copy of Live at Blues Alley. I'm not always a fan of people messing with the original melody too much, but Eva did it so beautifully that you just didn't care. Her taste, instincts, and abilities were simply on another plane. As always, going to have to watch this again to catch everything you've said about what's happening in this classic performance. It's a flawless one, that's for sure.
jazz is all about messing with the melody and she was very jazz influenced.
@@harmoniabalanza Yes, she was.
You have to appreciate every single note is ON KEY. No swooping or drooping to hit the note. Eva was perhaps the finest singer in the last 50 years! What is really amazing is the fact that she was terrified of performing in public. If you notice she looks everywhere BUT at the audience...as a side note, she had a cold when she sang this.
When she hits the high ones, the tears always flow...can't help it. I know in my heart that this is what angels must sound like when they sing.
Bless you Eva...Can't wait to see you again...
I have such admiration for anyone who can perform solo like this.
Thanks so much for covering this performance by Eva. She is one of my all-time favorite singers. Her technique and range were staggering and her interpretive powers unsurpassed. I can't listen to her without being moved to tears. So tragic that we lost her at such an early age. I can only wonder at the music she would have produced had she lived longer.