CoronaVinyl Day 194 (C): Colors of the Day by Judy Collins

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "C," and we're going mellow, with folk singer Judy Collins's 1972 compilation album Colors of the Day.

Somehow I have two Judy Collins records in my collection, again likely a result of them being included in a larger lot of records I purchased at some point.  And while I wouldn't consider Judy Collins's music the kind I would normally run to, one of the things I appreciate about this CoronaVinyl exercise (almost in its eleventh month!) is that it gives me an opportunity to explore music in my collection that I probably would never otherwise put on the turntable.  "But GMYH, if you have records that you're never going to listen to, why do you keep them?"  To that I say, who let my wife in here?  Also, I am listening to them now, so that's good enough for me, Jester.  Plus, I also enjoy learning about musicians, even if their music isn't my bag.

Collins was a musical prodigy, performing as a pianist from a young age.  Much to the chagrin of her piano teacher, Collins switched to the guitar as her interest in folk music grew.  She found her way to the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene in the early '60s, and she released her first album in 1961 at the age of 22.  She was mainly a folk singer, but she expanded her repertoire as her career progressed.

I know her best as the inspiration for Crosby, Still & Nash's classic "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," which was written by Stephen Stills, who dated Collins for two years.  The song is about their imminent breakup, and the title is a reference to her blue eyes.

Colors of the Day features 12 of Collins's songs, and there's folk, folk rock, pop, and country rock.  The album includes her two biggest hits ever, "Both Sides, Now," a Joni Mitchell-penned song that reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and her version of "Amazing Grace," which reached #15.  Colors of the Day reached #37 on the Billboard album chart, and it eventually went platinum in the U.S.

Now 81, Collins has continuously made and released music for the past 60 years, releasing 40 studio albums, including a 2017 collaboration album with Stephen Stills and a 2019 album Winter Stories that topped the Billboard Bluegrass album chart.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Both Sides, Now"

As I mentioned above, this was Collins's biggest hit.  Released in 1968, it's definitely a '60s pop/folk rock song, with a string arrangement and everything, complementing Collins's pleasant voice.  It was ranked #170 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "In My Life"
Collins's 1966 cover of one of my favorite Beatles songs provides a more haunting version of the song, with just Collins and her acoustic guitar.