If anyone has lived through pain and healing it’s Judy Collins, 71. And whatever serenity she has found has come from many hard won battles.
For those of us looking in from the outside, the die-hard New Yorker has led a charmed life working with some of the biggest stars in the music business such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and of course Canadian icon Leonard Cohen.
But during her 50-odd years singing folk ballads, Collins has struggled with alcoholism, bulimia, bouts of depression and panic attacks. At one point, she even needed throat surgery, a procedure that could have been a career ender but fortunately wasn’t.
But the greatest demon she’s faced was the suicide of her only child, Chuck Taylor, 33, in 1992. While some mothers would fall apart from the pain, Collins began to practise what she preached — “Art is the best therapy.”
The 1960s rebel had always used her music to promote social activism. She supported the Yippie Movement (Youth International Party) and later became a representative for UNICEF, campaigning for the abolition of landmines.
But in 2003, Collins grappled with the pain of her son’s depression and suicide by authoring Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength. Four years later, she penned The Seven Ts, a set of tools to help deal with loss-guilt, isolation, hopelessness, depression and violence.
“I try to treat it as a political issue and try to force people to talk about it. For instance, it’s still considered taboo in the church. If someone commits suicide, they refuse to bury you in sacred ground,” says Collins.
“There’s been a lot of education on the subject and there’s a huge increase in people writing and talking about it openly. We’ve come a long way but there’s still a long way to go.”
Much of that healing process continues to emerge through her music, an eclectic combination of folk, show tunes, pop, and rock and roll.
Back in June, she released Paradise, a new 10-track album through her own label Wildflower Records. Her Diamonds and Rust duet with Joan Baez and Stephen Stills’ Weight of the World have already hit the Billboard charts to favourable reviews.
Of Stills, once a lover and still a close friend, she says, “He’s one of the best songwriters down the pipe.”
But the song generating the most excitement is Over the Rainbow. “Did you know it’s the most recorded and listened to song in the world? It’s very powerful in a positive way, maybe because it’s the right time for it. It’s uplifting. It’s hopeful.”
Collin’s rendition of the Wizard of Oz song is also the focal point for a parallel project — Over the Rainbow, an oversized children’s picture book and three-song CD set released by Imagine Publishing.
Collins will perform at the Arden Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. with a mix of classics and new tunes. “Just tell everyone I’m thrilled to be there.”
