FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS "OVER THE RAINBOW", A PERFORMANCE OF THE SONG BY EVA CASSIDY!

It took a lot of soul-searching for me to initiate another "First" for "Friday Movie Suggestion Night"--not with a full length film, but a You Tube that is slightly longer than 5 minutes. This is Eva Cassidy's remarkable rendition of "Over the Rainbow".

_

The story of Eva Cassidy was included in my June 9, 2008 Blog entitled "On The Meaning of Life 1,000 Blogs Later" (my Blogaverssary). In that post, I featured a 2004 broadcast from ABC News' "Nightline". Over the past few weeks, I've tried to answer (for myself) why this young musician became so beloved by millions of people worldwide, but not in her lifetime? I asked a few of my most trusted friends to weigh in, and I listened to a variety of feedback. At the end of the day, as I'm wanton to do, I reached my own conclusion.

_

What did it take for American audiences to wake up to Eva's talent? It wasn't her passing, because she labored in obscurity during her lifetime, and it was not until 2002 (6 years after Eva's untimely passing at just 33) that people barely started to take notice of her talent. I have watched her music withstand the harshest critics. Furthermore, the proof--as they say--"is in the pudding". That is to say, I don't see grief. What I see is consideration. People standing at listening stations in music shops just having a listen and deciding for themselves whether to pick up a CD during a shopping trip or not. Truth be told, it took our friends "across the pond" in England to wake us up to our shameful oversight of this Washington, D.C.-based musician who was a terrific singer and guitarist. Eva had a rare knack for selecting really Great material from the genre's of Rock, Blues, Soul, and Jazz. She refused to let others box her into any category and define her--all music was her love and this girl held her ground! By most accounts she was painfully shy and could have cared less about becoming a commercial success. This fact alone is amazing! Eva's arrangements of covers had her own thumb print so indelibly annealed in a song that it is actually easy to forget that they were written by songwriters Eva admired as much as they later grew to admire her. More to the point, she infused each song with a spiritual emotionality summoned up from a deep reservoir as she does here with Judy Garland's signature piece. The singer Edith Piaf once remarked that when someone sings out from the depths of their soul, (as Eva does here) it awakens each of us to our own mortality and the need to take hold of our lives with both hands and live it! Lastly, there was more to Eva's incredible voice; there was humility. It's evident here too. So it is fitting that I don't see sadness as much as I see people "Celebrating" the fact that Eva's music is reaching many listeners worldwide, and with great pleasure. It's hard not to smile at the thought of what Eva Cassidy would make of all of this fame that today honors her parents. This past Monday evening, I decided to watch film clips of the only video tape in existence featuring a live performance of Eva at Washington's "Blues Alley". The You Tube captioned above is our "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" selection. We've never done this before; as I said, this is yet another "First". It's a sweet and touching performance for summer.

_
(enjoy)

My Complete Website is: www.michaelmanning.tv!