Collins still in love with great songs

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:13 AM PDT ∞

It's been more than half a century since that day, but Judy Collins still remembers quite clearly the moment she knew she would be abandoning her classical music studies with the legendary conductor Antonia Brico and moving into folk music.

"It was very sudden, and very profound, and it had to do with hearing Jo Stafford sing 'Barbara Allen,' " the folk-singing icon said Monday from the New York City office of Wildflower Records, the independent label she founded. She said Stafford "put out an album of folk songs in 1950, and I guess I probably heard it in '55, maybe, or '54. It changed my life. That was the moment."

Only a teenager then, Collins (who performs Sept. 15 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts) had already performed Mozart publicly under Brico's tutelage. But after hearing Stafford's take on folk music, Collins' interest in classical music waned.

Her parents ---- whom she said were both surprised at and supportive of her newfound interest in folk ---- rented her a guitar, which came with seven free lessons.

"I took one lesson and said this is not for me, I'll teach myself," Collins remembered.

Having studied under Brico (the first woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic), Collins said she was well-versed in music theory, so picking up guitar wasn't too difficult.

And as for singing popular folk songs while accompanying herself on guitar, Collins said the vocal part of things proved an equally smooth transition.

"I'd been studying and playing the piano and always singing in opera choirs and choruses and singing solos," she said.

And beyond the ability to read music, Collins said she was always able to play by ear as well ("My teacher hated that, because she wanted me to be playing Mozart all the time and studying the classics"), an innate talent honed by her upbringing as the daughter of a radio disc jockey.

"There was so much music in my family, in my life. My dad was in the radio business. I was always learning the Great American Songbook, always meeting people like George Shearing, Bob Hope, Red Skelton. I was always around performers and learning songs and becoming a performer myself."

She recorded her first album in 1961, and six years later became a household name based on her version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." In 1975, she scored another big hit with a cover of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns."

At the same time, she was also writing and recording her own songs. Collins acknowledged that the business has changed since she started out, when there were established "name" songwriters who were famous for having others perform their songs ---- but said there is still a demand on the part of singers for good material.

"Great songs will never go away, and people will always want to sing great songs. Even if you do write your own songs, eventually you'll want to branch out into the Great American Songbook," she said, citing Rod Stewart as one prominent example.

And having founded her own record label, Wildflower, she said the label is constantly bombarded by demo tapes from music publishers looking to get their songwriters' tunes into the hands of singers.

It's as a songwriter that Collins is making her next career move. Wildflower Records is finishing up an all-star recording of other artists singing their version of Collins' songs, she said.

"I didn't have a role," she said of the new project. "I went to a couple of sessions just to be there and give support." She said the label lined up everyone from Dolly Parton to Jimmy Webb, Joan Baez to Dar Williams.

"I had nothing to do with arrangements or any artistic input."

For someone who made her mark with definitive recordings of other people's songs, Collins said it was rewarding to hear how others sang her songs.

"It was so wonderful, because there were so many different interpretations. ... It's wonderful to hear other aspects."

Judy Collins and Leo Kottke

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 15

Where: Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway

Tickets: $45-$65

Info: (858) 748-0505 or powayarts.org

Web: wildflowerrecords.com

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.