Discovery

In writing yesterday's blog I discovered a wonderful singer named Eva Cassidy.  I had never heard of her before, but she too had recorded "Autumn Leaves."

I heard a snippet and realized I had heard her voice before, but never knew who the singer was.  Curious, I explored her story and found a tribute produced by Nightline over a decade ago.  Tragically, she died at age 33 from a melanoma.  Her voice is sublime and recognizable to many, I'm sure.  It's fitting that I learned about her here.  She was "discovered" here in Great Britain, and celebrated by BBC2 for her beautiful rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow".

A comment on this YouTube video said exactly what I wanted to say, so (with apologies), I'll simply copy and paste:
This video makes me so grateful for youtube! We get to see this stunning performance by one of the most gifted artists that didn't live long enough for us to get to see much of her. But we get to be blessed by her here. Thank you youtube!

I had a similar experience some years ago when I was looking for a quick reference to e.e. cummings's poem "i carry your heart".  As I tooled around the Internet, I found the poem had been put to music by a great guitarist who, like Eva Cassidy, died much too young.  I listened and was so moved I bought my first cd online.  Michael Hedges was a phenomenal guitarist and really good singer as well.  I love what he did here.

A few weeks ago I found a number of Judy Collins's songs I had always loved.  It was a real treat to hear Judy singing with another favorite, Shawn Colvin.  I remember buying her album Wildflowers when I was 14.  It was one of the first LPs I'd ever purchased.  "My Father" was one of the most entrancing songs I'd ever heard.  I also loved the Jacques Brel songs she sang.

While I am frequently frustrated by technology, it is a miracle.