Four Strong Winds - Music

Judy Collins Born Judith Marjorie Collins On May 1 1939 In Seattle Washington Is An American Singer And Songwriter Known For The Eclectic Range Of Material She Records Which Has Included Folk Show Tunes Pop And Rock And Roll As Well As And Standards And For Her Social Activism. Beginning In 1959 She Was Drawn To The Music Of Woody Guthrie And Pete Seeger And The Traditional Songs Of The Folk Revival Of The Early 1960s. In 1968 She Was Awarded A Grammy For "Both Sides Now". Since Then She Has Had An Enviable Reputation As A Singer And For Her Own Compositions. Though Born In Seattle Washington Where She Spent The First Ten Years Of Her Life She Moved To Denver Colorado In 1949. As A Child Collins Studied Classical Piano With Antonia Brico Making Her Public Debut At Age 13 Performing Mozart's Concerto For Two Pianos. 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 Busked And Played In Clubs Until She Signed With Elektra Records A Record Label With Which She Was 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 1979 She Posed Nude On The Album "Hard Times For Lovers". 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. Activism
Like Other Folk Singers Of Her Generation Collins Was Drawn To Social Activism. She Is A Representative For UNICEF And Campaigns On Behalf Of The Abolition Of Landmines. Following The 1992 Death Of Her Son Clark Taylor At Age 33 After A Long Bout With Depression And Substance Abuse She Has Also Become A Strong Advocate Of Suicide Prevention. Her 2003 Book Sanity & Grace Chronicles Her Recovery From Her Son's Suicide And Attempts To Provide Some Comfort And Guidance To Other Families Dealing With The Loss Of A Loved One To Suicide. She Describes The "Seven T's" As A Means For Going Through This Process Of Recovery Truth Therapy Trust Try Treat Treasure And Thrive. The Truth Is That There Should Be No Guilt In Suicide Therapy Helps People Express Their Emotions And Seek Grief Counseling Trust Is The Effort To Believe That One Can Make It Through The Loss And Keep A Belief In Life And In The Future Try Means To Stay Away From Drugs And Alcohol Or Any Excess--Including Overeating--As A Means To Deal With The Loss And Pain Treat Means To Take Care Of The Mind Body And Spirit With Exercise And Meditation Treasure Means To Keep The Memory Of The Moments To Be Treasured And For This Collins Recommends Writing And Keeping A Journal And Thrive Means To Be Positive Hopeful Open To Love And Others And Continuing To Know That You Can Rebuild Your Life On A Basis Of Hope. Awards And Recognition
Grammy Award Best Folk Performance Or Folk Recording "Both Sides Now" 1968 Grammy Award Song Of The Year "Send In The Clowns" 1975 Nominated With Jill Godmillow For An Academy Award For The Documentary "Antonia A Portrait Of The Woman" 1975 About Her Classical Piano Instructor Conductor Antonia Brico. Discography
Maid Of Constant Sorrow 1961 The Golden Apples Of The Sun 1962 Judy Collins #3 1964 The Judy Collins Concert 1964 Judy Collins' Fifth Album 1965 In My Life 1966 Wildflowers 1967 Who Knows Where The Time Goes? 1968 Whales And Nightingales 1970 Both Sides Now 1971 Living 1971 Live Colors Of The Day 1972 Greatest Hits True Stories And Other Dreams 1973 Judith 1975 Bread And Roses 1976 So Early In The Spring 1977 15th Anniversary Collection Hard Times For Lovers 1979 Running For My Life 1980 Times Of Our Lives 1982 Home Again 1984 Trust Your Heart 1987 The Stars Of Christmas Selected Especially For Avon 1988 Sanity And Grace 1989 Fires Of Eden 1990 Baby's Bedtime 1990 Baby's Morningtime 1990 Judy Sings Dylan... Just Like A Woman 1993 Come Rejoice! A Judy Collins Christmas 1994 Shameless 1994 Voices 1995 Christmas At The Biltmore Estate 1997 Forever An Anthology 1997 Both Sides Now 1998 Classic Broadway 1999 All On A Wintry Night 2000 Judy Collins Live At Wolf Trap 2000 Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen Democracy 2004 The Essential Judy Collins 2004 Portrait Of An American Girl 2006 Videography
Baby's Bedtime 1992 Baby's Morningtime 1992 Junior Playing The Operator Of A Home For Unwed Mothers Opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas At The Biltmore Estate 1998 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 Bibliography
Trust Your Heart 1987 Amazing Grace 1991 Sanity And Grace A Journey Of Suicide Survival And Strength 2003 read less