Meet Our Guest Artist

Judy Collins

Judy Collins’ Hope, Healing and Heart

Judy Collins is truly the definition of a living legend. Her influence in music and politics has encompassed more than four decades and her vocal interpretations have inspired millions. She has thrilled audiences worldwide with her unique blend of folk and contemporary themes in an impressive career that has spanned 46 years of dedication to her art.

At 13, a young Judy Collins made her public debut performing Mozart’s “Concerto for Two Pianos” but it was the music of such artists as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, as well as the traditional songs of the folk revival, that sparked Collins’ love of lyrics. She soon moved away from the classical piano and began her lifelong rapport with the guitar. In 1961, Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at the age of 22 and began a thirty-five year association with Jac Holzman and Elektra Records.

While Collins’ first few albums comprised straightforward guitar-based folk songs, with 1966’s In My Life, she began branching out and including work from such diverse sources as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel and Kurt Weill. Joshua Rifkin produced and arranged the album, adding lush orchestration to many of the numbers. The album was regarded as a major departure for a folk artist, and set the course for Collins’ subsequent work over the next decade.

With her rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” on her classic 1967 album, Wildflowers, also produced and arranged by Rifkin, Collins won her first Grammy award. “Both Sides Now” has since been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Winning “Song of the Year” for Stephen Sondheim at the 1975 Grammy awards was Collins’ version of “Send in the Clowns,” a poignant ballad Sondheim wrote for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music.

Collins has long been drawn to social activism. She is a representative for UNICEF and has campaigned on behalf of the abolition of landmines. Following the 1992 death of her son, Clark Taylor, at age 33, she has also become a strong advocate of suicide prevention. Her 2003 book, Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength, is a deeply moving memoir focusing on the death of her only son, and the healing process following the tragedy. It endeavors to provide comfort and guidance to other families who have lost a loved one to suicide. In the book she describes the “Seven T’s” as a means for going through this process of recovery: Truth, Therapy, Trust, Try, Treat, Treasure, and Thrive. Truth elucidates guiltlessness in suicide; Therapy helps people express their emotions and seek grief counseling; Trust is the belief that one can make it through the loss and keep a positive outlook on life and in the future; Try means to stay away from drugs and alcohol or any excess as a means to deal with the loss and pain; Treat is care of the mind, body, and spirit through exercise and meditation; Treasure helps keep the memories of moments to be treasured, and for this Collins recommends writing and keeping a journal; and Thrive means to be positive, open to love and others, and continuing to know that you can rebuild your life on a basis of hope. In the depths of her suffering, Judy found relief by reaching out to others for help and support. Now, she extends her hand to comfort other survivors whose lives have been affected by similar tragedy.

Judy Collins continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart. We are honored to have her join Seattle Men’s Chorus on December 2nd.