Folksinger's blue eyes sweeter these days
http://www.newsok.com/folksingers-blue-eyes-sweeter-these-days/article/3422266
Concert: Judy Collins writing book titled after Stephen Stills' song
about their '60s breakup
BY GENE TRIPLETT
December 4, 2009
Singer-songwriter Judy Collins has the distinction of being
immortalized in a classic rock song for breaking the heart of a
fellow musician.
Back in 1968, the breakup of a two-year relationship between Collins
and former Buffalo Springfield singer-guitarist Stephen Stills was
imminent, so he wrote an intricate, lyrically personal, four-section
folk-rock piece called "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and performed it for
her during a private visit at a West Coast hotel where she was performing.
Her initial reaction to the song was not a happy one.
"When he first sang it to me, I wanted to smack him," she said in a
phone interview from her New York home.
Apparently, the song was a little too personal for Collins' liking at
the time, making references, among other things, to the fact that
she'd been in therapy. To her it felt like the vengeful tantrum of a
heartsick kid.
"And he was a kid," she said. "He was six years younger than I was,
which when you're in your 20s is a lot."
When Stills joined forces with ex-Byrd David Crosby and ex-Hollies
front man Graham Nash to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash,
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" became the epic, harmony-laden centerpiece of
their self-titled debut album in 1969.
"By the time it came out, I knew all about it," Collins said. "I had
heard it. He came to sing it to me to try to get me back. That was
the kind of thing that was going on between us."
But they went their separate ways, and Collins carried on with her
own career, which had been established since 1961, when she first
rose to prominence in the New York folk revival scene and signed with
Elektra Records. As the '60s turned rebellious, she was drawn to the
topical works of social poets such as Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan.
Her coverage of songs by Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman and Joni
Mitchell helped bring those artists into the spotlight as well,
especially Mitchell, whose lilting ballad "Both Sides Now" became a
major hit for Collins.
Now 70, Collins has 37 albums to her credit, and has become known for
her watercolors and books, including the best-seller "Sanity and
Grace," which speaks of her recovery from alcoholism and the suicide
of her son, Clark, who succumbed to addiction and depression.
When she's not speaking out in support of recovery programs, Collins
is still a touring musician, and she'll be bringing an evening of
song to the 7 Clans Paradise Casino tonight in Red Rock.
She seems at peace with her past, and has come to feel pretty good
about the fact that a famous song was written for her. She's even
working on a book called "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes," a slight variation
on the title of the song. And she's still friends with Stills.
"We were having dinner a couple of years ago, and my granddaughter
was with us and his wife was there, and he said to me, 'Oh, you know,
I always felt bad that you didn't make any money off that song.' And
my granddaughter said, 'Well, it's never too late.'"
.
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