Bradley Grove Hyson

Beloved Family & Friends,

If you’ve never heard of the story of Eva Cassidy, do yourself a favor and take 5 minutes to treat yourself to the most amazing voice EVER – BAR NONE. Powerful, tender, soulful, transcendent, Angelic, with ocean-sized range. She was so talented the industry didn’t know what to do with her, and fitting into a genre, fashion or hairstyle were of no interest or consequence to her, she just wanted to sing songs that moved her. She just sang & played. How strange this world we live in where simply playing becomes novelty, but I digress.

I want to share this video with you because when I sit and give her performance my un-guarded attention, I feeling like I’m witnessing the voice of the Divine, the voice of God. Life is stranger than fiction, and life can sometimes seem cruel, and this once in a lifetime talent succumbed to cancer at 33 years of age, unknown and undiscovered as an artist. This song is literally her singing 10 months before passing. It’s as if she knew what was coming and she holds nothing back, she leaves it all on the performance, and for me to say that about an artist performing a song as potentially hokey, a potential minefield for smarminess and overblown emotionality – says something. She hypnotizes. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself (DO YOURSELF A FAVOR & WATCH IN FULL SCREEN)

Filmed in black and white, wearing an old army shirt, open, over a turtleneck, she absolutely destroys with sincerity. She’s not even there, she’s gone, the music is just flowing through her.

Whatever your musical tastes, you have to honor her priceless gift and mastery of her craft. After laying a foundation and interlude, at the 3:40 range she begins to build, and she’s getting stronger and more powerful and you think that’s it, but she’s just warming up and getting stronger and stronger, and you realize you’re witnessing something special, you have to stop whatever you’re doing to give this your complete and undivided attention. The building continues until at 4:03 as she soars into those high notes the hairs on the back of my neck are literally standing up. Now I’m gone. I’m sobbing. She reminds me of just how profound, and priceless and precious this life truly is, and how fucking painful and hard it can be at the very same time. And she finishes it off with restraint and class. She is royalty, and in a class by herself.

Oh yeah, and she fingerpicks. Here’s the thing – she didn’t even like her performance, she had a cold & didn’t think it was her best. God bless you Eva, my sweet darling child.
Bittersweet doesn’t do the heartbreak justice, this is magic, pure & simple.
Yup Virginia, there really must be magic in this world.

To you from me,

With Love
Brad

PS Years after her death, a recording of her singing was played on a British show, posthumously reviving her career and her albums going gold, earning her the worldwide success and recognition a talent of her magnitude deserves. Thanks Eva, wherever you are 