Folk music icon Judy Collins, currently embarking on her farewell tour, recently addressed a variety of questions regarding her illustrious career and influential relationships.
Reflecting on her early days, Collins shared the story of how she became one of the first artists to record Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides, Now. During a late-night phone call in 1967, her friend, songwriter Al Kooper, played the track for her over the line. Despite knowing Mitchell was then an unknown songwriter, Collins was struck by the song’s brilliance and decided to record it, a move she notes Mitchell was initially unhappy about, though they later reconciled. One night in 1967, I was passed out and the phone rang at about 3am. I recorded it the next day and it became a huge hit. So I’m proud that I was able to help introduce her to the world, she was unknown then. I first encountered the song My Father via This Mortal Coil’s version. But it’s really about the ethereal idea we have of our parents and how they inspire us, i had to make it rhyme and make sense. But he never used a dog or a cane, my father was blind from the age of four. He went through the world determined to conquer. Upstairs in the bus – guided by the sound of his heels on the pavement, he went anywhere he wanted – through the city. Or therapy, and I was in both, he didn’t like New York.
The singer also recounted her deep professional history with Leonard Cohen, whom she met in 1966. A mutual friend at Atlantic Records introduced the two, leading Cohen to visit her apartment. Uncertain of his own ability, Cohen famously told her, I can’t play guitar. I have a terrible voice and I don’t know if this is a song. Collins encouraged him, stating she was recording it the following day, which prompted Cohen to credit her with making him famous. A friend at Atlantic Records who always talked about this guy Leonard rang up and said: “Leonard wants to see you, what is your favourite memory of Leonard Cohen? viennesewaltzer In 1966. I went straight to the piano and wrote Since You Asked in 40 minutes. Which is kinda what the song’s about, his determination was such that he believed we could achieve anything.
Discussing her songwriting process, Collins addressed the inspiration behind her track My Father. While it is highly autobiographical, she clarified that the details about her father being a coalminer in Ohio were creative adjustments for rhyme and structure. She paid tribute to her father, a radio personality who sang the Great American Songbook and traditional folk songs, and credited him for instilling a sense of boundless possibility in her. She remains driven by a passion for writing, noting that her recent album Spellbound, which features 12 original tracks, received a Grammy nomination. Although my father wasn’t a coalminer in Ohio and didn’t promise to take us to France, is it autobiographical? mbleeze It’s very autobiographical. Which he could read to us in the dark, he sang the Great American Songbook and Irish and Scottish folk songs and had books in braille piled up to the ceiling.
Regarding her shift toward the serious treatment of contemporary songs, Collins explained her collaboration with arranger Joshua Rifkin in 1966 for the album In My Life. By drawing inspiration from Brecht and Weill’s Berlin-era compositions, she aimed to provide a classical-style gravity to songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen. This spirit of discovery was fostered by her long-term partnership with Elektra Records owner Jac Holzman, whom she describes as a brilliant and supportive collaborator. Once I’d done Pirate Jenny – [sings] “You gentlemen can watch while I’m scrubbing the floor” – I thought it would be interesting to take songs from Berlin from the 1940s and put them with this wonderful music the Beatles and others were doing, so the contrast was really interesting. Jac’s still working at 95 and we talk often.
Collins shared memories of her intense, four-month romance with Stephen Stills during the late 1960s. Although their relationship did not endure, their mutual respect has lasted for decades. She recalled how Stills’s song Suite: Judy Blue Eyes captured their time together and how he later praised her husband, the late Louis, as the right guy for her. The admiration is mutual; Collins wrote the song Houses about Stills, and she is titling her final tour after his famous composition. After my wonderful husband, Louis, died in 2024, we played a song together and on stage Stephen said: “She married the right guy,” which was so touching – they were buddies. At the time a completely unknown composition by Sandy Denny? goringgull We were closing up for the day when this guy pulled up to the studio on a motorcycle, raced inside and threw this cassette on the desk of my producer, David Anderle, how did you come across the great title track.
Her connection to other folk peers remains a highlight of her life. She recalled meeting Bob Dylan in 1959 and 1960 at a club called the Gilded Garter in the mountains, where the two would drink together. At the time, Dylan was performing Woody Guthrie blues, so she was initially surprised when she later saw the lyrics for his early compositions written down. She also spoke fondly of her friendship with Carly Simon, dating back to when Simon was part of the Simon Sisters in Greenwich Village. For 25 years, and Elektra was a very eclectic label, from Carly Simon to the Stooges, he was always there.
The singer also touched on her enduring commitment to the craft. She noted that she is currently 48 years sober, marking a significant change from her earlier, more chaotic years in the industry. Her approach to music remains centered on storytelling, a tradition she traces back to her time with the Denver Folklore Society. As she reflects on her life, beginning in 1939, she acknowledges the massive technological and social changes that have occurred since, yet she maintains a focus on the fundamental human stories that define her legacy. But in the old days I drank, steve-bayley I’m 48 years sober. But Stephen and I have been friends for 60 years, i’d launched into another affair with someone else. What is it exactly that people are connecting with? eamonmcc I learned all the gorgeous old songs from the Denver Folklore Society – Maid of Constant Sorrow and the like. Their joy and pain, the folk music genre connects to everyone and everything because they’re stories about people’s lives.
