A Tale of Two Artists

Whenever I find myself lost in the whirlpool of daily life, I try to tune out from all that noise and frenzy, take a step back and listen to some good ol’ music to soothe my weary soul. When feeling down in the dumps, I sometimes find myself instinctively looking for two particular artists in my playlist: Eva Cassidy and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. You probably may have never heard of their names before but I am sure that you have heard their music at least once.

These two artists were worlds apart, yet they remarkably share many things in common. Israel, also fondly called IZ, is one of Hawaii’s most beloved musicians. He was literally larger than life: standing at a gigantic six-foot-six and weighing over 700 pounds.


Anyone who saw IZ for the first time, he with a small ukulele in hand, surely would have been awed by this man. Never would they think that within that gargantuan frame lay a gift: a smooth and pure voice.

If you have watched the closing scenes of ’50 First Dates’, waited till the credits rolled in ‘Meet Joe Black’, or watched as Dr. Mark Greene passed away in ‘E.R.’, you have already heard IZ’s voice. ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’ are old classic tunes. Everybody knows them. But IZ gave these two songs his own twist and the result is sublime.

How IZ recorded these songs is legendary. He called up his producer at 2 a.m. saying he wanted to record right at that moment. At the studio, he started with a quick dedication – ‘Kay, this one's for Gabby’- then began gently strumming his ukulele and sang the opening lines of ‘Over the Rainbow’.

Halfway through it, he deftly and seamlessly changes the tune and started singing Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World” then back again to 'Somwehere..'. It is a simple performance but was truly heartfelt. IZ’s version has been described as ‘so sad and poignant, yet full of hope and possibility’.

That was the first and last time he sang those two songs. The record was released and IZ quickly rose to fame. However, it did not last long. IZ died four years later due to a respiratory illness related to his obesity. He was only 38. Hawaii's state flag flew at half staff on the day of his funeral and 10,000 people gathered as is ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

The other artist is Eva Cassidy. She was a jazz, blues and pop singer from Maryland who lived a fairly simple and quiet life as a singer in Washington DC. She was lavished with accolades, sold over four million copies and was even described as 'one of the greatest voices of her generation’. Sadly, she never saw all of this happen. She died of cancer in 1996. She was only 33.

It was only after her death that recordings of her songs were released. My favorite song by Eva is her rendition of Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’. It is said that Sting himself was moved to tears when he heard her version. She also sang a mellowed-down version of ‘Time after Time’ which was used in an episode of Smallville.

Remarkably, one of her most famous recordings was of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’. In September 1996, with her health rapidly deteriorating that she even needed a walker, she did her final performance in front of an audience of friends. She sang ‘What a Wonderful World'.

Eva and IZ: two different artists who lived thousands of miles away from each other. Yet both of them made beautiful music that lived on even if they both have passed away too soon. Both gave their own rendition of the same two songs. Both became even more famous and sold more records posthumously. And both have captured the hearts of millions of music lovers all over the world including mine.

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