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.

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.”