Respectfully disagree Amos, Both singers mentioned guilty of being overwrought. While great cabaret singers I can't give either of them a nod when it comes to straight folk or blues. Like I said in an earlier post most singers can do 2, maybe 3 styles of singing very well and take a stab at the others. She was at home, authentic, and right on the button no matter where she was. She could sing in the Minnie Riperton range and go low ala Cleo Laine. Screech like Patti LaBelle, squawk like Big Mama Thornton, straighten out and do it clean like Mary Black. Nobody, but nobody could do it all except her. And she could rap, too. That's what's meant about her being the best. The thing that pleases me about this thread is the responses and the info that's been gathered about other singers of whom some posting perhaps hadn't heard. Jo Ann Kelly and Norma Waterson to name a couple have opened my eyes. Go to the Eva website at www.evacassidy.org and read the interviews with some of the people that worked closely with her. The only negative comment with which I'll agree is with the poster who used the word 'strident'. There are a couple of cuts live with the band where she sings a few phrases you can bet she wishes she had back, but who doesn't blow one now and again? Overall, I'll stand by the assertion...she's the best...so far. May she rest in peace.