Eva Cassidy - Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
From the album Time after Time (2000)
Label: Blix Street
Appears on: DALI CD Vol. 4

On the 17th of September 1996, a young woman, accompanied by a few dozen family and friends, attended her own tribute concert in a small club in the Washington DC area for what would be her final performance, What a Wonderful World. A few weeks later, Eva Cassidy passed away, having been diagnosed with melanoma months earlier. Refusing to bend her music to music industry conventions and expectations, Cassidy was known only within the DC area during her lifetime.

She left behind one live album, a duet album, and various studio demos and live recordings. In the intervening 20 years, Cassidy's music has proven timeless and universal. Crossing all boundaries – musical, cultural, geographical – her voice has survived and is finding new listeners every day in every corner of the world.

Ain't No Sunshine reveals the crisp sound of nylon strings and the warm voice of Eva Cassidy is a classic in the hi-fi demo world. We're still in love with this very melodic and touching version of the Bill Withers classic, and this is why we present it as the opening track of this compilation. We offer this performance in tribute to the iconic voice of Eva Cassidy who sadly died all too young in 1996. This is simply a musical choice of very high audio quality.