JUDY COLLINS – Brief Career Overview
The article by Allmusic (by William Ruhlmann) on Arlo Guthrie opens with: “Is it possible to be a one-hit wonder three times?” Arlo Guthrie is of course not a one-hit wonder of any type, but rather someone who has had a long musical career that spawns a hit song once in a while. Judy Collins is another example; she has been recording albums more or less steadily for over 50 years and is still touring (she came through Biloxi just last March). She has scattered several hit songs over this time with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” in 1968, the gospel standard “Amazing Grace” (sung a capella) in 1971, and the Stephen Sondheim song “Send in the Clowns” in 1975. I am gradually purchasing Collins’ catalogue, and her early albums in particular – from the folk music revival of the early 1960’s – are truly remarkable, with lovely vocals, sterling guitar, and a real ear for finding good songs.
Linda Ronstadt was quoted at the height of her hit-making period in the 1970’s as saying that Judy Collins has the kind of career that she would like to have; and to a large extent, this has become the case: Both women have made albums in a variety of styles and on their own terms, and each has an established fan base that has also changed considerably over the decades.
(May 2012)
