Folk Alliance: Judy Collins Disses Dylan, Sings ‘Amazing Grace’

By Mark Kemp

At the 28th Annual Folk Alliance International on February 17-20, Acoustic Guitar captured the legendary folksinger Judy Collins‘ keynote address on video.

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Caveat: The picture quality isn’t great–and Collins isn’t playing her signature Martin 12-string–but these excerpts are well worth watching for her wonderful, sometimes hilarious stories about Bob Dylan (whose early performances she calls “pathetic”), Pete Seeger (“He gave us so much; he was so amazing”), and how she came to record “Amazing Grace.”

Best of all, throughout her talk Collins spontaneously breaks into a cappella, singing portions of “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “The Gypsy Rover,” “Barbara Allen,”  and “Amazing Grace.”

Mark Kemp
Mark Kemp

Former AG editor Mark Kemp is the author of Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race, and New Beginnings in a New South (Simon & Schuster, 2004; University of Georgia Press, 2006).