 | Judy Collins: Encyclopedia II - Judy Collins - Biography
Judy Collins - Biography
As a child Collins studied classical piano with Antonia Brico, making her first public debut at age 13 performing Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos.
However, it was the music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and the traditional songs of the folk revival of the early 1960s, that piqued Collins' interest and awoke in her a love of lyrics. Three years after her debut as a piano prodigy, she was playing guitar. She eventually made her way to Greenwich Village, New York City, where she played in clubs until she signed with Elektra Records, a record label with which she has been associated for 35 years. In 1961, Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at the age of 22.
At first she sang traditional folk songs, or songs written by others, in particular the social poets of the time, such as Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan. She recorded her own versions of seminal songs of the period, such as Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn". Collins was also instrumental in bringing then little known composers to a wider public; for example, she recorded songs by Canadian poet Leonard Cohen, and Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
With her 1967 album Wildflowers, she began to record her own compositions, the first of which was entitled "Since You've Asked". This album also provided Collins with a major hit, and a Grammy award, with her version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1968's Who Knows Where the Time Goes was produced by Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills & Nash), with whom Collins was romantically involved at the time (she is the "Judy" of the Stills-written CSN classic "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"). It had a mellow country sound, and included Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon" and the title track, a Sandy Denny song which has been covered by several artists.
By the 1970s, Collins had a solid reputation as an art song singer and folksinger. She had also begun to stand out with her own compositions. She was also known for her broad range of material: her songs from this period include the traditional gospel song "Amazing Grace", the Stephen Sondheim Broadway ballad "Send in the Clowns" (both of which were top 20 hits as singles), and her own compositions such as "My Father" and "Born to the Breed".
In more recent years, Collins has taken to writing, producing a memoir, "Trust Your Heart" in 1987, and two novels. Though her record sales are not what they once were, she still records and tours. One of her more recent albums is a collection of songs based on her novel Shameless. She performed at US President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in 1993, singing "Amazing Grace" and "Chelsea Morning". (The Clintons have stated that their daughter Chelsea was named after Collins' recording of the Joni Mitchell song.)
Other related archives1939, 1960s, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1970s, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, Academy Award, Amazing Grace, American, Antonia Brico, Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman, Arlo Guthrie, Best Folk Performance or Folk Recording, Bill Clinton, Billboard Hot 100, Bob Dylan, Bread and Roses, Canadian, Chelsea Morning, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elektra Records, Grammy Award, Grammy award, Greenwich Village, Ian Tyson, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, May 1, Mozart, New York City, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Sandy Denny, Seattle, Send in the Clowns, Song of the Year, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Stills, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Sunny Goodge Street, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Turn, Turn, Turn, UNICEF, US President, Voices, Washington, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Wildflowers, Woody Guthrie, conductor, folk, guitar, landmines, piano, poet, singer, standards, suicide
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Biography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
