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Judy Collins

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Judy Collins is an American singer, born in 1939 in Seattle and raised in Denver. Her father was a blind singer and radio presenter. As a child she received classical piano training from the conductor Antonia Brico, but the songs of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and the folk revival attracted her more. She took up the guitar, moved to Greenwich Village in New York and signed with Elektra Records, the label where she would stay for 35 years. Her debut A Maid of Constant Sorrow (1961) consisted of traditional folk songs.

Music and breakthrough

At first Collins wrote little herself. She sang songs by protest singers such as Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan, and she drew attention to writers who were still unknown, such as Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell. On In My Life (1966) she let go of the bare folk guitar: the arranger Joshua Rifkin gave the songs a lush orchestral accompaniment, and alongside folk the album contained work by The Beatles, Jacques Brel and Kurt Weill. Wildflowers (1967) contained Mitchell's Both Sides, Now, which earned her a Grammy. Later came Amazing Grace and Send in the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim, from the album Judith (1975), which became her best-selling record.

Influence

Collins stands out for the clarity of her voice and for her broad taste: folk, country, show tunes and pop. In this way she became a bridge between the folk clubs and the general public. Many songs that later became classics were first heard by that public in her performance. Stephen Stills, with whom she had a relationship, wrote Suite: Judy Blue Eyes about her.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Both Sides, Now by Judy Collins and notice how clear and calm her voice remains above the accompaniment. Then put Joni Mitchell's own version beside it and hear how the same song sounds different when the writer sings it.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists