Judy Collins • Both Sides, Now

"Both Sides, Now" was written by the great Joni Mitchell, and first recorded by Judy Collins for her 1967 album, 'Wildflowers'. It was released as a single in 1968, and became a hit for the Folk star. The song went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and to #3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. For her performance on the song, Collins won a Grammy for Best Folk Performance. Mitchell recorded it as part of her 1969 album 'Clouds'. "Both Sides, Now" was such a success for Collins, it became a signature song. Here is a video of Judy performing the song with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops at Boston's Symphony Hall 1976.

You can find Judy Collins' recording of "Both Sides, Now" on 'Wildflowers', as well as on 'The Very Best of Judy Collins', a collection of her greatest hits. You can find 'The Very Best of' on iTunes and Amazon. 'The Very Best of Judy Collins' features so many great songs, including "Suzanne", "Someday Soon", "Chelsea Morning", "Amazing Grace" and "Send In The Clowns". I hope your weekend is going well.

Judy Collins & Leonard Cohen • Suzanne

Judy Collins is a master interpreter of modern music, there is no doubt. She has covered the work of Dylan, Sondheim, Lennon & McCartney, and, well, any writer of note. That would include Canadian Poet/Songwriter Leonard Cohen. Collins was the first to perform his song Suzanne, on her 1966 album In My Life. Here is Collins performing the song with Cohen.



In My Life is an interesting collection, to be sure. On it, Judy Collins sings the songs of Bob Dylan, Bertold Brecht & Kurt Weill, Cohen, Jacques Brel, Randy Newman, Donovan, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney. You can purchase In My Life on iTunes and Amazon.

Torch Songs, 60s Style

Clockwise: Judy Collins; Joni Mitchell; Joan Baez; and Linda Ronstadt.

Big Band and Jazz singers were not the only artists allowed to sing a good torch song. After all, what makes a torch song? Love gone wrong, that's what it's all about. And in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the time of free love, and plenty of that free love went wrong. Like in 1967, when the stunning Judy Collins sang about a Hard Lovin' Loser, written by Richard Farina, and originally recorded by Richard and his wife Mimi, who was also the sister of Joan Baez. Check out Judy singing the song live, with the assistance of the very talented Tom and Dickie Smothers, on their show.



Next, I thought of the angelic voice of Joni Mitchell, and after side-stepping the obvious choice of Both Sides Now, I made my way to a gorgeous song off he 1971 album Blue. It was said that the song really is a discussion of the end of Joni's love affair with Graham Nash, of Crosby, Still & Nash fame. So here is Joni Mitchell singing A Case Of You, a performance on the BBC in 1974.



In 1974, Linda Ronstadt released the brilliant album Heart Like A Wheel. The album combined Rock, Country, Blues, and Pop like few had been able to do before, and it was incredible. It included a cover of a Hank Williams song that few could sing like Ronstadt could. And did. Here is Linda Ronstadt singing I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) featuring the beautiful vocals of Emmylou Harris.



For many, Joan Baez is the Queen of Folk music. I have to say that would include me. She starting performing in the coffeehouses in the 1950s, and continued for the following decades, making memorable music all the time. On the New York City circuit, she performed with some of the greats of the business, including Bob Dylan. The following clip is Diamonds & Rust, inspired by her relationship with Dylan in the early 1960s. It is an amazing song. Here is the Queen of Folk singing her own song, Diamonds & Rust.

Ladies Take On The Beatles

Clockwise: Karen Carpenter; Marianne Faithfull; Emmylou Harris; and Judy Collins.

After listening once again to the first entry of this post, I was inspired to seek out other covers of Beatles songs, and found some incredible performances by many gorgeous voices. There are way more than the four that I post here, but picked these because of the purity of the voice, and the honesty they brought to the table that made them stand out. So I will start with Karen Carpenter's haunting version of Ticket To Ride. The song, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, was a hit for the Beatles in 1965. In 1969, it became the first song Richard and Karen Carpenter had on the Billboard charts.



You can find Ticket To Ride, both the single and the album, on iTunes and Amazon.

A stalwart on the folk scene for the last 50 years, playing in coffee houses since the early 1960s. In 1967, she released her first album, In My Life. It had songs from some of the top writers of the 20th century, from Bob Dylan, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel, Randy Newman, Donovan, and, of course, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. In fact, the stunning singer used the Beatles tune as the title track. Here is Judy Collins singing the great ballad, In My Life.



You can find In My Life, both the single and the album, on iTunes and Amazon.

The stunning Marianne Faithful sang a beautiful version of the Lennon-McCartney song Yesterday in 1965. This was before she was having affairs with The Rolling Stones, before she discovered the joys and pitfalls of the 60s drug culture. It was when she was a beautiful girl, with a lovely voice, singing an early cover of a song that is perhaps the most covered song in the history of recorded music.



You can find Yesterday, part of her Greatest Hits collection, on iTunes and Amazon.

At times, there is just a very fine line between Country and Folk, a line that has often been blurred. You could easily say that an artist like Emmylou Harris has not only crossed that line, but made it useless. The brilliance of her tone, the amazing phrasing she has, all makes her an amazing artist. And in 1975, she released an album that included Here, There and Everywhere, a song written by Paul McCartney, but credited to the Lennon-McCartney catalog. Elite Hotel was an amazing album, and the cover was just beautiful.



You can find Elite Hotel or the single Here, There & Everywhere, on iTunes and Amazon.

Judy Collins Send In The Clowns

Sweet Judy Blue-Eyes has a heart almost as pure as her voice, which is saying something. Judy Collins, who inspired the Crosby, Stills and Nash song Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, was more than just a powerful muse, she was also a gifted performer in her own right. Among the songs she is known for is, Stephen Sondheim's Send In The Clowns made it into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in both 1975 and again in 1977 when it was re-released. The song was taken from the music theater piece A Little Night Music.



You can find the song on the 1975 album Judith, which was certainly part of my own personal collection. It had some really great music on it, including Send In The Clowns. You can find it on iTunes.