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{{Short description|American singer and songwriter}}{{Technical reasons|Judy Collins #3|the album|Judy Collins 3}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}

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| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.| origin = Denver, Colorado, U.S.Folk music>Americana (music)>Country music>rock and roll|pop}}Singermusician}}Vocalsguitar}}| years_active = 1959–presentElektra Records>Geffen Records>MCA Records>Mesa BluemoonRhino Entertainment Company>RhinoAtlantic Records>AtlanticCleopatraWilliam Ruhlmann “Judy Collins – Discography” “AllMusic.com” Retrieved October 30, 2017.}}judycollins.com}}}}Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records (which has included folk music, country, show tunes, pop music, rock and roll and standards), for her social activism, and for the clarity of her voice. Her discography consists of 36 studio albums, nine live albums, numerous compilation albums, four holiday albums, and 21 singles.Collins’ debut studio album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, was released in 1961 and consisted of traditional folk songs. She had her first charting single with “Hard Lovin’ Loser” (No. 97) from her fifth studio album In My Life (1966), but it was the lead single from her sixth studio album Wildflowers (1967), “Both Sides, Now” – written by Joni Mitchell – that gave her international prominence. The single reached No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Singles chartMAGAZINE,www.billboard.com/artist/305342/judy-collins/chart, Judy Collins – Chart history, Billboard, July 30, 2015, and won Collins her first Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance.NEWS, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences,www.grammy.com/artists/judy-collins/12213, Judy Collins, January 19, 2021, She enjoyed further success with her recordings of “Someday Soon”, “Chelsea Morning” (also written by Mitchell), “Amazing Grace”, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, and “Cook with Honey”.Collins experienced the biggest success of her career with her recording of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” from her tenth studio album Judith (1975). The single peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1975 and then again in 1977 at No. 19, spending 27 non-consecutive weeks on the chart and earning her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, as well as a Grammy Award for Sondheim for Song of the Year.NEWS, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences,www.grammy.com/artists/stephen-sondheim/12557, Stephen Sondheim, January 19, 2021, Judith would also become her best-selling studio album; it was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1975 for sales of over 500,000 copies and Platinum in 1996 for sales of over 1,000,000 copies.CERTIFICATION, United States, 2014, album, Judy Collins, In 2017, Collins’s rendition of the song “Amazing Grace” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.WEB,www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-029/, National Recording Registry Picks Are “Over the Rainbow”, Library of Congress, March 29, 2016, March 29, 2016, That same year, she received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album for Silver Skies Blue with Ari Hest.WEB,variety.com/2017/music/features/singer-judy-collins-grammy-nomination-1201979543/, Judy Collins Talks Her First Grammy Nomination in 40 Years: ‘I’ve Been Working All This Time, Variety.com, February 8, 2017, October 27, 2017, In 2019 at the age of 80, she scored her first No. 1 album on an American Billboard Chart with Winter Stories, a duet album with Norwegian singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jonas Fjeld featuring Chatham County Line.MAGAZINE,www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8546731/judy-collins-first-career-billboard-number-one-winter-stories/item/prn-17-029/, Judy Scores First Career Number 1, Billboard, June 13, 2020, March 29, 2016, In 2022, she released her first studio album of all original material, titled Spellbound, and it earned her another Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

Early life

Collins was born the eldest of five siblings in Seattle, Washington, where she spent the first ten years of her life. Her father (a blind singer, pianist, and radio show host) took a job in Denver, Colorado in 1949 and the family moved there. Her grandfather was Irish.NEWS, Ellie, O’Byrne,www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30977085.html, The songs that matter most to Judy Collins from her 60-year career, Irish Examiner, 1393-9564, Cork, en-ie, January 22, 2020, March 8, 2022, WEB,www.irishmusicdaily.com/blog/judy-collins-on-her-love-of-irish-music, Judy Collins speaks about her love of Irish music, Patrick, Kehoe, November 29, 2021, irishmusicdaily.com, Collins contracted polio at the age of 11 and spent two months in isolation in a hospital.WEB, Interview by Wendy Schuman,www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Celebrities/Judy-Collins-Tell-The-Truth-No-Matter-How-Hard.aspx, Judy Collins tells Beliefnet how she used meditation and prayer to cope with illness and her son’s suicide., Beliefnet.com, February 17, 2011, October 16, 2012,

Career

Beginnings

File:Judy Collins Hootenanny 1963.jpg|thumb|upright|Collins during a 1963 appearance on Hootenanny]]Collins studied classical piano with Antonia Brico, making her public debut at age 13 performing Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos. Brico took a dim view of her developing interest in folk music, which led her to the difficult decision to discontinue her piano lessons. Years later, after she became known internationally, she invited Brico to one of her concerts in Denver. When they met after the performance, Brico took both of Collins’ hands into hers, looked wistfully at her fingers and said, “Little Judy—you really could have gone places.” Still later, she discovered that Brico herself had made a living when she was younger playing jazz and ragtime piano (Singing Lessons, pp. 71–72). In her early life, she met many professional musicians through her father.BOOK, Malkoski, Paul A., The Denver Folk Music Tradition: An Unplugged History, from Harry Tuft to Swallow Hill and Beyond, 2012, The History Press, 978-1609495329, 52, It was the music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and the traditional songs of the folk revival of the early 1960s, however, that kindled Collins’ interest and awoke in her a love of lyrics. Three years after her debut as a piano prodigy, she was playing guitar. Her first public appearances as a folk artist after her graduation from Denver’s East High School were at Michael’s Pub in Boulder, Colorado and the folk club Exodus in Denver. Her music became popular at the University of Connecticut, where her husband taught. She performed at parties and for the campus radio station along with David Grisman and Tom Azarian.NEWS,www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,526497,00.html, Time “Striking a Chord”, Time.com, August 20, 2021, March 19, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200319133053/https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,526497,00.html, dead,

1960s

Collins eventually made her way to Greenwich Village, New York City, where she played in clubs like Gerde’s Folk City until she signed with Elektra Records, a label she was associated with for 35 years. In 1961, she released her debut studio album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at age 22.NEWS, Reviews of new albums, November 27, 1961, Billboard, 28, At first, Collins sang traditional folk songs or songs written by others – in particular the protest songwriters of the time, such as Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan. She recorded her own versions of important songs from the period, such as Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Pete Seeger’s “Turn! Turn! Turn!”. She was also instrumental in bringing little-known musicians to a wider public. For example, she recorded songs by Canadian poet Leonard Cohen, who became a close friend over the years. She also recorded songs by singer-songwriters such as Eric Andersen, Fred Neil, Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Robin Williamson, and Richard Fariña long before they gained national acclaim.BOOK, Simmons, Sylvie, I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, 2012, McClelland & Stewart, 978-0771080401, BOOK, Courrier, Kevin, Kevin Courrier, Randy Newman: American Dreams, 2005, ECW Press, 978-1550226904, 65–66, (File:JodyCollins-Oct1965.jpg|thumb|right|Judy Collins in 1965)Collins’ first few studio albums consisted of straightforward guitar-based folk songs, but with her fifth studio album In My Life (1966), she began branching out to include works from such diverse sources as the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel, and Kurt Weill. Mark Abramson produced and Joshua Rifkin arranged the album, adding lush orchestration to many of the numbers. The album was a major departure for a folk artist and set the course for Collins’ subsequent work over the next decade.{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000195828|label=In My Life review|access-date=March 16, 2013}}With her sixth studio album Wildflowers (1967), also produced by Abramson and arranged by Rifkin, Collins began to record her own compositions, beginning with “Since You Asked”. The album also provided her with a major hit and a Grammy Award in Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now”, which in December 1968 reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100,MAGAZINE, {{BillboardURLbyName, judy collins, all, |title=Judy Collins|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 16, 2013}} later (February 1970) reaching No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart.WEB,www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19700222/7501/, Official [U.K.] Singles Chart Top 50, 22 February 1970–28 February 1970, The Official UK Charts Company, December 17, 2021, Collins’ seventh studio album Who Knows Where the Time Goes (1968) was produced by David Anderle, and featured back-up guitar by Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills & Nash), with whom she was romantically involved at the time. (She was the inspiration for Stills’s CSN classic “(Suite: Judy Blue Eyes)”.) Time Goes had a mellow country sound and included Ian Tyson’s “Someday Soon” and the title track, written by the UK singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. The album also featured Collins’ composition “My Father” and one of the first covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on the Wire”.NEWS, Judy Collins Concert: Has Fans Gentle on Her Mind, May 24, 1969, Billboard, 22, File:Judy Collins solo performance 1967.JPG|thumb|left| Collins performing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy HourThe Smothers Brothers Comedy HourTwo of Collins’ songs (“Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” composed by Sandy Denny and “Albatross“) were featured in the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses.

1970s

By the 1970s, Collins had a solid reputation as an art song singer and folksinger and had begun to stand out for her own compositions. She was also known for her broad range of material: her songs from this period include the traditional Christian hymn “Amazing Grace”, the Stephen Sondheim Broadway ballad “Send in the Clowns” (both of which were top 20 hits as singles in both the U.S. and the U.K.WEB,www.officialcharts.com/artist/13893/judy-collins/, JUDY COLLINS, The Official UK Charts Company, December 17, 2021, ), a recording of Joan Baez’s “A Song for David”, and her own compositions, such as “Born to the Breed”.NEWS, Santosuosso, Ernie, Judy Collins’ flight of fancy, Boston Globe, May 11, 1975, In 1971, Collins issued her second live album, Living, and the compilation album (Colors of the Day: The Best of Judy Collins) followed a year later. Collins’ ninth studio album True Stories and Other Dreams (1973) found her in a contemplative mood, featuring an original song about a friend who took his own life (“Song for Martin“) and another about the life of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (“Che“). For her tenth studio album Judith (1975), she collaborated with producer Arif Mardin, who gave the album a sophisticated sound. Judith produced her biggest hit single with her mournful version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”, and it would become her best-selling record, eventually going platinum.As Collins stepped up to a higher level of stardom, the longtime activist put political themes at the forefront of her eleventh studio album Bread and Roses (1976). Political statements like the title song, originally a poem by James Oppenheim commonly associated with a 1912 garment workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, were balanced with such pop compositions as Elton John’s “Come Down in Time”, but the album failed to achieve the commercial success of Judith. Following the release of the album, Collins underwent treatment for damaged vocal cords, and after years of struggling with alcoholism, she sought medical help to give up drinking. Her compilation album So Early in the Spring... The First 15 Years (1977) sold modestly.(File:Zangeres Judy Collins in Hiltonhotel Amsterdam, Judy Collins, Bestanddeelnr 925-1517.jpg|thumb|right| Collins in hotel Hilton Amsterdam, 1971)Collins guest starred on The Muppet Show in an episode broadcast in January 1978,BOOK, Garlen, Jennifer C., Graham, Anissa M., Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets, 2009, McFarland & Company, 978-0786442591, 218,archive.org/details/kermitculturecri0000unse/page/218, singing “Leather-Winged Bat”, “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”, “Do-Re-Mi”, and “Send in the Clowns”. She also appeared several times on Sesame Street, where she performed “Fishermen’s Song” with a chorus of Anything Muppet fishermen, sang a trio with Biff and Sully using the word “yes”, and even starred in a modern musical fairy tale skit called “The Sad Princess”.NEWS, Ann, Lolordo, Judy Collins changing styles, Lodi News-Sentinel, August 13, 1977, In 1979, she returned to music with her twelfth studio album Hard Times for Lovers, a pop-oriented album in the same vein as Judith; she gained some extra publicity with the cover sleeve photograph of her in the nude.

1980s

Running for My Life (1980) and Times of Our Lives (1982) were well-crafted exercises in adult pop and soft rock, but as tastes changed, Collins’ sales were on the decline. Home Again (1984) found her exploring some new musical avenues, including a synth-based cover of Yaz’s “Only You” and a duet with country star T. G. Sheppard on the title cut. While the “Home Again” single was a minor hit, the album was not, and after 23 years, Collins and Elektra parted ways. She performed the music for the 1983 animated television special The Magic of Herself the Elf, as well as the theme song of the Rankin/Bass Productions television film The Wind in the Willows.BOOK, Woolery, George W., Animated TV Specials, 1989, Scarecrow Press, 978-0810821989, registration,archive.org/details/animatedtvspecia0000wool, (File:Judy Collins.jpg|thumb|Collins at a book signing, 1995|left)Collins traveled to England in 1985 and struck a one-off deal with Telstar Records to record the studio album Amazing Grace, in which she re-recorded several of her better-known songs with an inspirational bent. In 1987, she signed with the independent Gold Castle label, and her first studio album for them, Trust Your Heart, which collected seven tracks from Amazing Grace and added three new selections. That same year, she released her first memoir, Trust Your Heart.WEB,www.judycollins.com/books,www.judycollins.com/books," title="web.archive.org/web/20211121113722www.judycollins.com/books,">web.archive.org/web/20211121113722www.judycollins.com/books, live, November 21, 2021, Judy Collins Official Website – Books, March 11, 2022, In 1989, Collins released two albums: a live disc titled Sanity and Grace,WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Sanity and Grace,www.allmusic.com/album/sanity-and-grace-gold-castle--mw0002054886, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, February 5, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220205085850/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sanity-and-grace-gold-castle--mw0002054886, live, and a collaboration with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, Innervoices.WEB, Innervoices,www.allmusic.com/album/innervoices-mw0000654261, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, December 2, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211202171057/https://www.allmusic.com/album/innervoices-mw0000654261, live,

1990s

In 1990, Collins released her eighteenth studio album Fires of Eden on Columbia Records.WEB, Eder, Bruce, Fires of Eden,www.allmusic.com/album/fires-of-eden-mw0000316233, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, November 15, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211115161447/https://www.allmusic.com/album/fires-of-eden-mw0000316233, live, The album spawned one single – “Fires of Eden”, written by Kit Hain and Mark Goldenberg. The single peaked at No. 31 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. At the time of its release, Collins performed it live on several occasions, including on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Joan Rivers Show. A music video promoting it and featuring her was also released.WEB,www.dailymotion.com/video/x6c2f5, Judy Collins Fires of Eden – Vidéo Dailymotion, Dailymotion.com, August 3, 2008, August 20, 2021, Later, Cher recorded “Fires of Eden” for her 1991 studio album Love Hurts. Other songs from Fires of Eden include “The Blizzard”, “Home Before Dark”, and a cover of the Hollies song – “The Air That I Breathe”. That same year saw the release of a pair of children’s albums, Baby’s MorningtimeWEB, Ruhlmann, William, Baby’s Morningtime,www.allmusic.com/album/babys-morningtime-mw0000690513, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, October 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211029231145/https://www.allmusic.com/album/babys-morningtime-mw0000690513, live, and Baby’s Bedtime.WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Baby’s Bedtime,www.allmusic.com/album/babys-bedtime-mw0000441204, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, October 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211029221522/https://www.allmusic.com/album/babys-bedtime-mw0000441204, live, Collins performed at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993, singing “Amazing Grace” and “Chelsea Morning”. (The Clintons have stated that they named their daughter, Chelsea, after her recording of the song.)NEWS, Clark, Eric, After spinning others’ songs into gold, Judy Collins gets tribute album of her own works, Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA), October 12, 2008, For her next studio album, Collins turned to a project that was both personal and familiar, a set of Bob Dylan covers titled Judy Sings Dylan... Just Like a Woman.WEB, Roach, Pemberton, Judy Collins Sings Dylan: Just Like a Woman,www.allmusic.com/album/judy-collins-sings-dylan-just-like-a-woman-mw0000106482, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, December 11, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211211030546/https://www.allmusic.com/album/judy-collins-sings-dylan-just-like-a-woman-mw0000106482, live, Released in 1993, the album was a commercial success and reminded fans she was still active and in fine voice. In 1994, she issued her first Christmas album, Come Rejoice! A Judy Collins Christmas.WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Come Rejoice! A Judy Collins Christmas,www.allmusic.com/album/come-rejoice%21-a-judy-collins-christmas-mw0000626262, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, December 9, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211209121604/https://www.allmusic.com/album/come-rejoice%21-a-judy-collins-christmas-mw0000626262, live, It would prove to be the first in a series, with other holiday releases soon following, the first being the live album Christmas at the Biltmore Estate in 1997,WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Christmas at the Biltmore Estate,www.allmusic.com/album/christmas-at-the-biltmore-estate-mw0000595906, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, October 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211029231150/https://www.allmusic.com/album/christmas-at-the-biltmore-estate-mw0000595906, live, followed by All on a Wintry Night in 2000.WEB, Torreano, Bradley, All on a Wintry Night,www.allmusic.com/album/all-on-a-wintry-night-mw0000103563, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, December 9, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211209151204/https://www.allmusic.com/album/all-on-a-wintry-night-mw0000103563, live, Collins combined her interests in music and literature for her next project. In 1995, she published a novel, Shameless, that took place against the backdrop of the music business; she also released an album of the same name that served as the soundtrack.WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Shameless,www.allmusic.com/album/shameless-mw0000174112, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, October 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211029231103/https://www.allmusic.com/album/shameless-mw0000174112, live, In 1998, Collins published her third book, Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope and Healing, which focused on her struggles with alcoholism, depression, and the emotional trauma of her son’s death. In 1999, she released Classic Broadway, a collection of vintage show tunes.WEB, Ruhlmann, William, Classic Broadway,www.allmusic.com/album/classic-broadway-mw0000669220, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, October 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211029221540/https://www.allmusic.com/album/classic-broadway-mw0000669220, live, That same year, she and her manager Katherine DePaul founded Wildflower Records.

2000s–2020s

(File:Judy Collins by Bryan Ledgard 1.jpg|thumb|right|Collins performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, 2008)Collins maintained a busy release schedule via Wildflower, issuing numerous live albums and reissues as well as new material such as 2005’s Portrait of an American Girl, 2010’s Paradise,WEB, Paradise,www.allmusic.com/album/paradise-mw0001989692, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, November 2, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211102203015/https://www.allmusic.com/album/paradise-mw0001989692, live, and 2011’s Bohemian,WEB, Monger, James Christopher, Bohemian,www.allmusic.com/album/bohemian-mw0002206147, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, November 2, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211102203018/https://www.allmusic.com/album/bohemian-mw0002206147, live, all of which focused on her continued strength as an interpretive vocalist. In 2006, she sang “This Little Light of Mine” in a commercial for Eliot Spitzer. In 2007, she released her own covers collection of Beatles songs, entitled Judy Collins Sings Lennon and McCartney. Various artists, including Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright, and Chrissie Hynde, covered Collins’s compositions for the tribute album (Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins|Born to the Breed) in 2008.“Basking in the Afterglow of a Tribute Album” by John Soeder, Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 24, 2009. In the same year, she received an honorary doctorate from Pratt Institute. The tribute albums Tom Thumb’s Blues: A Tribute to Judy CollinsWEB, Tom Thumb’s Blues: A Tribute to Judy Collins,www.allmusic.com/album/tom-thumbs-blues-a-tribute-to-judy-collins-mw0000001849, AllMusic, March 15, 2022, December 1, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211201140026/https://www.allmusic.com/album/tom-thumbs-blues-a-tribute-to-judy-collins-mw0000001849, live, and Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy CollinsWEB, Ruhlmann, William, Born To the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins,www.allmusic.com/album/born-to-the-breed-a-tribute-to-judy-collins-mw0000796428, AllMusic, March 15, 2022, January 29, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220129052031/https://www.allmusic.com/album/born-to-the-breed-a-tribute-to-judy-collins-mw0000796428, live, appeared in 2000 and 2008, respectively.In 2010, Collins sang “The Weight of the World” at the Newport Folk Festival, a song by Amy Speace.NEWS, Amy Speace on Mountain Stage, NPR Music, Judy Collins, who chose Speace as the first artist on her Wildflower label, has been singing her song “The Weight of the World” at prominent venues of late, including the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival and the Isle of Wight., August 12, 2010,www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114290478, September 26, 2010, Another memoir from Collins, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music, appeared the following year and put its focus on her career as an artist. In July 2012, she appeared as a guest artist on the Australian SBS television programme RocKwiz.NEWS, Blundell, Graeme, Bang a gong as Rockwiz turns 10,www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/bang-a-gong/story-fn9n8gph-1226417802468, The Australian, March 16, 2013, She paid homage to some of her favorite songwriters as well as her favorite vocalists with the 2015 album Strangers Again, which featured duets with Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Jeff Bridges, and Glen Hansard.WEB, Monger, Timothy, Strangers Again,www.allmusic.com/album/strangers-again-mw0002866019, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, December 14, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211214071037/https://www.allmusic.com/album/strangers-again-mw0002866019, live, The album also included a track with singer-songwriter Ari Hest. Collins and Hest joined forces again in 2016 for a full studio album titled Silver Skies Blue, which later earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album.File:Judy Collins, prior to a performance at the Boettcher Concert Hall, one of the venues at the Denver Performing Arts Center in downtown Denver, Colorado.jpg|left|thumb|293x293px|Judy Collins, prior to a performance at the Boettcher Concert Hall, part of the Denver Performing Arts ComplexDenver Performing Arts ComplexIn 2017, Collins returned to the work of the songwriter who gave her “Send in the Clowns” with A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim,WEB, A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim,www.allmusic.com/album/a-love-letter-to-stephen-sondheim-mw0003009533, AllMusic, March 11, 2022, November 3, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211103073826/https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-love-letter-to-stephen-sondheim-mw0003009533, live, and the same year, she and her longtime friend, Stephen Stills, collaborated on an album, Everybody Knows. In addition to the two albums, she bared her soul in another book, Cravings: How I Conquered Food, where she opened up about her difficult relationship with food and her years of dealing with eating disorders. In 2019, she released the album Winter Stories, a collaboration with Norwegian singer Jonas Fjeld and the North Carolina country-folk quartet Chatham County Line. In 2022, she released her first studio album of all original material, entitled Spellbound.Collins joined the judging panel for the 7th, 9th, 10th,WEB,www.independentmusicawards.com/judges, Independent Music Awards, Independent Music Awards, September 23, 2010, October 13, 2010, WEB,top40-charts.com/news/Charts-Awards/She-&-Him-The-Black-Keys-Mark-Hoppus-Aimee-Mann-And-Bettye-LaVette-Join-Judging-Panel-For-The-9th-Annual-Independent-Music-Awards/48785.html, Top40-Charts.com, Top40-Charts.com, October 13, 2010, 11th,“11th Annual IMA Judges. Independent Music Awards. Retrieved on September 4, 2013. 12th, 13th and 14th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Activism

Like many other folk singers of her generation, Collins was drawn to social activism. Her political idealism also led her to compose a ballad entitled “Che” in honor of the 1960s Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.Collins doesn’t rest on laurels but looks for songs’ surprises {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607160541www.cleveland.com/friday/plaindealer/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Ffriday%2F124591870160950.xml&coll=2 |date=June 7, 2011 }} by John Soeder, Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 26, 2009Collins sympathized with the Yippie movement and was friendly with its leaders, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. On March 17, 1968, she attended Hoffman’s press conference at the Americana Hotel in New York to announce the party’s formation. In 1969, she testified in Chicago in support of the Chicago Seven; during her testimony, she began singing Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and was admonished by prosecutor Tom Foran and judge Julius Hoffman.WEB,www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/chicago7/Collins.html, Testimony of Judy Collins in the Chicago Seven Trial, Law.umkc.edu, August 19, 1968, September 8, 2010, dead,www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Chicago7/Collins.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100619235723www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Chicago7/Collins.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100619235723www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Chicago7/Collins.html, June 19, 2010, In 1971, Collins signed her name to a Ms. campaign, “We Have Had Abortions”, which called for an end to “archaic laws” regarding abortion rights; the campaign encouraged women to share their stories and take action. In 1982, she wrote the song “Mama Mama” about a mother of five and her ambivalence over her decision to abort an unintended pregnancy.NEWS,www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-nov-13-la-ol-women-speak-out-abortion-20131113-story.html, Women speak out: ‘My abortion’, November 13, 2013, Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2019, en-US, 0458-3035, NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/sunday/abortion-kennedy-supreme-court.html, Opinion {{!, Let’s Talk About My Abortion (and Yours)|last=Leive|first=Cindi|date=June 30, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 25, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}“Mama Mama” lyrics {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525065919www.judycollins.com/lyrics/mama_mama.php|date=May 25, 2012}}. (n.d.). Judycollins.com. Retrieved August 3, 2012.Ruhlmann, William. (n.d.) Times of Our Lives review. Allmusic. Retrieved August 3, 2012.In the late 1990s, she was a representative for UNICEFNEWS, Roos, John, Taking a Novel Approach; A Grieving Judy Collins Finds Writing a Book Helps the Healing Process, 30, Los Angeles Times,www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-01-26-ca-29106-story.html, January 26, 1996, {{ProQuest, 293262779, }} and campaigns on behalf of the abolition of landmines.NEWS, Brozan, Nadine, Chronicle, The New York Times, July 9, 1996,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDC1139F93AA35754C0A960958260, August 1, 2008, Later songs include “River of Gold” about the environment and “My Name is Maria” about dreamers.NEWS,portlandtribune.com/pt/11-features/394001-285612-stills-and-collins-bring-decades-of-activism-to-revolution-hall

, Stills & Collins bring decades of activism to Revolution Hall, Portland Tribune, April 30, 2013,

Personal life

Collins has been married twice. Her first marriage to Peter Taylor in 1958 produced her only child, Clark C. Taylor, born the same year. The marriage ended in divorce in 1965.WEB, Biography for Judy Collins, Internet Movie Database,www.imdb.com/name/nm0172423/bio, February 24, 2009, In April 1996, she married industrial designer Louis Nelson, whom she had been seeing since April 1978. They live in New York City.NEWS, Brady, Louis Smith, Weddings: Vows; Judy Collins, Louis Nelson, The New York Times, April 21, 1996,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E6DC1F39F932A15757C0A960958260, February 24, 2009, In 1962, shortly after her debut at Carnegie Hall, Collins was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent six months recuperating in a sanatorium.BOOK, Judy, Collins, Singing lessons: a memoir of love, loss, hope and healing,books.google.com/books?id=KBIJPmrOwNMC&pg=PA127, November 16, 2010, October 1998, Simon and Schuster, 978-0-671-00397-5, 127, Collins is the subject of the Stephen Stills composition “(Suite: Judy Blue Eyes)”, which appeared on the 1969 eponymous debut studio album of Crosby, Stills & Nash.WEB, Farber, Jim, Interview Judy Collins on Stephen Stills: ‘I said, it’s such a beautiful song but it’s not winning me back’,www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/21/judy-collins-on-stephen-stills-i-said-its-such-a-beautiful-song-but-its-not-winning-me-back, Guardian News & Media Limited, September 21, 2017, February 14, 2022, Collins suffered from bulimia nervosa after she quit smoking in the 1970s. “I went straight from the cigarettes into an eating disorder”, she told People magazine in 1992. “I started throwing up. I didn’t know anything about bulimia, certainly not that it is an addiction or that it would get worse. My feelings about myself, even though I had been able to give up smoking and lose 20 pounds, were of increasing despair.” She has written at length of her years of addiction to alcohol, the damage it did to her personal and musical life and how it contributed to her feelings of depression.BOOK, Judy, Collins, Singing lessons: a memoir of love, loss, hope and healing,books.google.com/books?id=KBIJPmrOwNMC&pg=PA127, November 16, 2010, October 1998, Simon and Schuster, 978-0-671-00397-5, 172–190, 238–240, She admits that although she tried other drugs in the 1960s, alcohol had always been her drug of first choice just as it had been for her father. She entered a rehabilitation program in Pennsylvania in 1978 and has maintained her sobriety ever since, even through such traumatic events as the death of her only child, Clark, by suicide in 1992 at age 33 after a long bout with clinical depression and substance abuse. Since then, she has also become an activist for suicide prevention.NEWS,usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-06-18-judy-collins_n.htm, Son’s suicide prodded Collins to write, USA Today, June 18, 2007, November 25, 2013, Hellmich, Nanci,

Awards and recognition

Academy Awards{| class“wikitable”

! colspan=“6” style="text-align:center;“| Academy Awards!Year! style="width:225px;“|Nominated work! style="width:175px;“|Award! style="width:200px;“|Recipients!width=“65“|Result! style="width:20px;“| Ref47th Academy Awards>1975| (Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman)Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film>Best Documentary Feature | Judy Collins and Jill Godmilow| {{nom}}HTTP://WWW.OSCARS.ORG/OSCARS/CEREMONIES/1975 >TITLE=THE 47TH ACADEMY AWARDS (1975) NOMINEES AND WINNERS WORK=OSCARS.ORG ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20150402004005/HTTP://WWW.OSCARS.ORG/OSCARS/CEREMONIES/1975, April 2, 2015,

• In 2003, Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.WEB, Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry,www.loc.gov/item/prn-03-211/25-films-added-to-national-film-registry/2003-12-16/, September 15, 2020, Library of Congress, WEB, Complete National Film Registry Listing,www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/, September 15, 2020, Library of Congress,

“>

Grammy Awards{| class“wikitable”

! colspan=“7” style="text-align:center;“| Grammy Awards! Year! style="width:250px;” | Work! style="width:275px;” | Award! style="width:65px;“| Result! style="width:20px;“| Ref6th Annual Grammy Awards>1964Judy Collins 3>Judy Collins #3Best Folk Recording| {{nom}}10th Annual Grammy Awards>1968In My Life (Judy Collins album)>In My Life| {{nom}}11th Annual Grammy Awards>1969| “Both Sides, Now” | {{won}}12th Annual Grammy Awards>1970| “Bird on the Wire“| {{nom}}17th Annual Grammy Awards>1975| “Send in the Clowns”Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance>Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female|{{nom}}59th Annual Grammy Awards>2017| Silver Skies Blue with Ari HestBest Folk Album| {{nom}}65th Annual Grammy Awards>2022Spellbound (Judy Collins album)>Spellbound| {{nom}}

• Stephen Sondheim won the 1976 Grammy Award for Song of the Year based on the popularity of Collins’ performance of “Send in the Clowns” on her album Judith.WEB, Send in the Collins,www.timespressrecorder.com/articles/2010/10/07/ae/ae17.txt, Times Press Recorder, July 12, 2006, March 16, 2013,

Other awards

• For her activism and musical abilities, the Americana Music Association presented Collins with the “Spirit of Americana“/Free Speech Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2005 Honors & Awards ceremony.
• She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2006WEB,www.cogreatwomen.org/project/judy-collins/, Judy Collins, Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, 2019, October 27, 2017,
• She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from Pratt Institute in May 2009
• In 2009, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/02_february/03/folk.shtml, BBC – Press Office – 10th Radio 2 Folk Awards, Bbc.co.uk, August 20, 2021,
• Her rendition of “Amazing Grace” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in 2017.
• She received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 2019.WEB, Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement, Achievement.org, American Academy of Achievement,achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/, NEWS, 2019 Summit Highlights Photo,achievement.org/summit/2019/, Four legendary singer-songwriters and musicians: Judy Collins, Steven Tyler, Buddy Guy, and Jimmy Page enjoy a rare private tour of Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll, the first major exhibition in an art museum dedicated in its entirely to the iconic instruments of rock and roll, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.,
• Collins received the International Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 UK Americana Awards.WEB,www.udiscovermusic.com/news/loretta-lynn-judy-collins-mike-scott-2023-uk-americana-awards/, Loretta Lynn, Judy Collins, Mike Scott to be Honored at 2023 UK Americana Awards, November 9, 2022,

Discography

{{further|Judy Collins discography}}“>

Charted albums{| class“wikitable”

! Year! Album! USMAGAZINE,www.billboard.com/artist/judy-collins/, US Albums and Singles Charts > Judy Collins, Billboard (magazine), Billboard, February 28, 2022, ! UKWEB,www.officialcharts.com/artist/13893/judy-collins/, Official Charts > Judy Collins, Official Charts Company, February 28, 2022, ! AUSBOOK, Kent, David, David Kent (historian), Australian Chart Book 1970–1992, illustrated, Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W., 1993, 0-646-11917-6, 69, ! NOWEB, norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal,norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Judy+Collins, March 12, 2022, norwegiancharts.com, !USSales! Certifications| 1963| Judy Collins 3126|| | ||| 1965| Fifth Album69| | | ||| 1966In My Life (Judy Collins album)>In My Life46| | | ||

• RIAA: Gold

| 1967Wildflowers (Judy Collins album)>Wildflowers5| | | ||

• RIAA: Gold

| 1968Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Judy Collins album)>Who Knows Where the Time Goes29| | | ||

• RIAA: Gold

| 1969| Recollections29| | | || | 1970| Whales & Nightingales151626| ||

• RIAA: Gold

| 1971Living (Judy Collins album)>Living64| | | ||| 1972(Colors of the Day>Colors of the Day: The Best of Judy Collins)37| | | ||

• RIAA: Platinum

| 1973| True Stories and Other Dreams27| | | ||| 1975Judith (album)>Judith17719| ||

• RIAA: Platinum

| 1976Bread and Roses (album)>Bread and Roses25| 96| ||| 1977So Early in the Spring (Judy Collins album)>So Early in the Spring... The First 15 Years42| | | ||| 1979| Hard Times for Lovers54|| | ||| 1980| Running for My Life142| | | ||| 1982Times of Our Lives (Judy Collins album)>Times of Our Lives190| | | ||| 1985Amazing Grace (Judy Collins album)>Amazing Grace|3485 | ||| 2015| Strangers Again77| | | ||| 2017Everybody Knows (Stills & Collins album)>Everybody Knows195| | | ||| 2019Winter Stories (album)>Winter Stories{{efn|Peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart}}| | 25|||2022Spellbound (Judy Collins album)>Spellbound|||||60|“>

Charted singles{| class“wikitable”

! Year! Song! US! US AC! UK! AUS! Album| 1967| “Hard Lovin’ Loser”97–––In My Life (Judy Collins album)>In My Life| 1968| “Both Sides, Now”831437Wildflowers (Judy Collins album)>Wildflowers1969Someday Soon (Ian Tyson song)>Someday Soon”5537––Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Judy Collins album)>Who Knows Where the Time Goes| “Chelsea Morning”7825––| (single only)Turn! Turn! Turn!>Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)”6928––| Recollections| 1970| “Amazing Grace”155510| Whales & Nightingales| 1971| “Open the Door (Song for Judith)”9023––Living (Judy Collins album)>Living1973| “Cook with Honey”3210––True Stories and Other Dreams| “Secret Gardens”122–––| 1975| “Send in the Clowns”368613Judith| 1977| “Send in the Clowns” (re-release)1915––| 1979| “Hard Times for Lovers”6616––| Hard Times for Lovers| 1984| “Home Again” (duet with T. G. Sheppard)–42––Home Again (Judy Collins album)>Home Again| 1990| “Fires of Eden”–31––Fires of Eden (album)>Fires of Eden

Filmography

{{Div col}}

• The Doctors (TV series) (1982) Judith Howard
• Guiding Light (1982) as herself
• Baby’s Bedtime (1992)
• Baby’s Morningtime (1992)
• Junior (1994), the operator of a spa for pregnant women
• Christy (TV series) (1994–1995), recurring role as “Aunt Hattie McHone”
• Christmas at the Biltmore Estate (1998)
• A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998), telefilm based on a 1958 Rod Serling story
• The Best of Judy Collins (1999)
• Intimate Portrait: Judy Collins (2000)
• Judy Collins Live at Wolf Trap (2003)
• Wildflower Festival (2003) (DVD with guest artists Eric Andersen, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Rush)
• Girls (TV series) (2013), series 2, episode 8: “It’s Back”
• Danny Says (2016)

{{Div col end}}

Bibliography

{{Div col}}

• Trust Your Heart (1987)
• Amazing Grace (1991)
• Shameless (1995)
• Singing Lessons (1998)
• Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength (2003)
• The Seven T’s: Finding Hope and Healing in the Wake of Tragedy (2007)
• Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music (2011)
• Cravings: How I Conquered Food (2017)

{{Div col end}}

Certifications

The years given are the years the albums and singles were released, and not necessarily the years in which they achieved their peak.{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}U.S. Billboard Top 40 Albums

• 1967 – Wildflowers (No. 5)
• 1968 – Who Knows Where the Time Goes (No. 28)
• 1969 – Recollections (No. 29)
• 1970 – Whales & Nightingales (No. 15)
• 1972 – (Colors of the Day|Colors of the Day: The Best of Judy Collins) (No. 37)
• 1972 – True Stories and Other Dreams (No. 27)
• 1975 – Judith (No. 17)
• 1976 – Bread and Roses (No. 25)

U.S. Billboard Top 40 ‘Pop’ Singles

• 1968 – “Both Sides, Now” (No. 8)
• 1971 – “Amazing Grace” (No. 15)
• 1970 – “Cook with Honey” (No. 32)
• 1975 – “Send In the Clowns” (No. 19)

U.S. Billboard Top 40 ‘Adult Contemporary’ Singles

• 1968 – “Both Sides, Now” (No. 3)
• 1969 – “Someday Soon” (No. 37)
• 1969 – “Chelsea Morning” (No. 25)
• 1969 – “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” (No. 28)
• 1971 – “Amazing Grace” (No. 5)
• 1971 – “Open the Door (Song for Judith)” (No. 23)
• 1973 – “Cook with Honey” (No. 10)
• 1975 – “Send In the Clowns” (No. 8)
• 1979 – “Hard Times for Lovers” (No. 16)
• 1990 – “Fires of Eden” (No. 31)

{{col-break}}Albums and singles certifications{| class=“wikitable”!Album title!CertificationIn My Life (Judy Collins album)>In My Life|GoldWildflowers (Judy Collins album)>Wildflowers|GoldWho Knows Where the Time Goes (Judy Collins album)>Who Knows Where the Time Goes|Gold|Whales & Nightingales|Gold|Colors of the Day|PlatinumJudith (album)>Judith|Platinum{{col-end}}

See also

• List of peace activists

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

External links

{{Archival records|title=Judy Collins papers, circa 1955–2002|location= Music Division, Library of Congress|description_URL=https://lccn.loc.gov/2014572486}}{{Commons category|Judy Collins}}

• {{Official websitewww.judycollins.com}}
• Audio interview with Judy Collins
• Audio interview, Minnesota Public Radio 7 April 2009
• {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000294923}}
• {{discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|0172423}}
• woodsongs.com/showdetailspage.asp?SN=549" title="web.archive.org/web/20120210160152woodsongs.com/showdetailspage.asp?SN=549">Judy Collins profile (549)

{{Judy Collins}}{{Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame}}{{Chicago Seven}}{{Authority control}}