It was in 1961 during the so-called “Folk Revival” that Judy Collins first surfaced. That same era produced several artists like Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Eric Andersen... and most notably Bob Dylan. Folk performers often never went beyond being folk heroes.
Although she is still associated with folk music, Judy Collins's biggest hits were more pop than folk. Her biggest hit was a song from a Broadway musical. Very few of her songs were written by her, but that beautiful Judy Collins soprano voice gave the songs a very unique quality. That talent earned her more than one Grammy Award over the years.
One of the hits for Judy is pictured above as part of our 45’s feature. “Chelsea Morning” was written by Joni Mitchell and it was the second time that Ms. Collins had a hit covering the member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In fact, Judy Collins had more success with Joni’s songs than Joni did.
The picture on the cover only gives you a small idea of just how striking the eyes of Judy Collins are. In my book “Confessions of a Teenage Disc Jockey” I relate just how distracting her eyes are when you to talk to her face-to-face. They almost don’t seem real.
I am certain that I’m not the only person to cast under the spell of her eyes. Stephen Stills wrote the song called “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” after he too was enchanted by her sparkling blue eyes.
Those eyes can still captivate after all these years and so does her voice. At age 76 Judy still does some limited engagements. If given the opportunity to see Judy Collins live, try and get a front row seat so you too can be taken in by both her voice and the eyes that look totally unreal!
