INTERVIEW: Judy Collins on her unbelievable career, plans for 2015
Judy Collins, the legendary singer-songwriter who has brought a unique style to such classics as “Send in the Clowns” and “Someday Soon,” shows no signs of slowing down after more than 50 years in the music business. In 2015, she promises more touring and opportunities for fans to hear the classic tunes that made her a respected voice among folk artists.
“I pinch myself every day because it’s so unusual, and it’s so wonderful,” Collins said recently during a phone interview. “So I’m very grateful.”
Collins was trained as a classical pianist, growing up with the songs of Rodgers & Hart, plus the great American songbook. She would often play Mozart, Beethoven and Debussy, and at 13, she was playing with a symphony. But folk music came quickly after these early forays.
“I did find folk music when I was about 14-15,” she said. “And just fell in love with it immediately and got a guitar and started learning the songs. I was in Denver, so I joined the local folk music club and started going out to all the places where they played and learning all the different songs and really deciding that that’s what I wanted to do. And really did that. I collected songs. I started a whole repertoire.”
She credits the community of folk singers for a lot of support in those early years. After Denver, Collins moved to New York and was a frequent presence in several famous nightclubs, including Kettle of Fish, Gaslight Cafe, the Bitter End and Village Vanguard. “I was really in the midst of it, so it was a very welcoming group,” she added.
Collins, known for her original compositions and interpretations of classic tunes, said she loves performing both.
“I like them both, and both of them excite me. So I’m very, very happy to be able to have both of those areas in my life, and I’m writing more songs right now than I have for a while.”
The singer, who recently interpreted Neil Young’s “Helpless,” said that touring in today’s music business is “very necessary.” She’s thankful that her health is good and that she’s able to perform songs for her many dedicated fans.
“I’m very happy that I can do it, that I’m healthy, that I have the kind of career I have where I have the fan base that I can travel in this country and other parts of the world as well,” she said. “It’s an exciting thing to have that opportunity, and I’m very happy that I do.”
Throughout her career, Collins has had many “pebbles” in the road, but she has found success in a tough business for more than five decades.
“I’ve had success, and as they say, success and failure are both imposters,” she said. “I’m very happy that today I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t scream, I don’t eat a bunch of junk, I have a very calm life, and I can work. I’m now in my fifth, sixth decade of being a working artist, which I think is the great adventure. It’s the great goal when you start out.”
Her song selections over the years have been varied, with many of them considered by fans and critics as timeless. This unique quality allows them to still resonate in 2015, some 50 years after Collins first started performing them. When writing songs, Collins is careful not to be too topical with the subject matter.
“I find that people reference my songs whether they came out in 1963, whether they’re songs like ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ or ‘Both Sides Now’ or something I wrote for 9/11, ‘Kingdom Come,'” she said. “They’re never sung the same way, but of course they have the advantage of offering people memories of their own lives.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
- Judy Collins will play several concerts in the coming weeks, including gigs in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Florida. Click here for more information.
