In My Life (Judy Collins album)
Encyclopedia
In My Life is an album by American
folk
singer Judy Collins
, released in 1966. It peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard
Pop Albums charts in 1967.
Working with arranger Joshua Rifkin
, many of the songs on the album featured dramatic orchestral arrangements, a departure from Collins' previous albums, which had all been more straightforward folk music. The album included work by Leonard Cohen
, The Beatles
, Bob Dylan
, and Richard Farina
. Collins' version of the song "Suzanne
" is considered to be the recording that first introduced Leonard Cohen's music to a wide audience.
Allmusic stated "Judy Collins was already an accomplished interpretive singer before recording this album, but In My Life found her widening her horizons and revealing an even greater gift than one might have imagined; for the most part, it's a superb album and still one of her best."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, released in 1966. It peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Pop Albums charts in 1967.
Working with arranger Joshua Rifkin
Joshua Rifkin
Joshua Rifkin is an American conductor, keyboard player, and musicologist. He is best known by the general public for having played a central role in the ragtime revival in the 1970s with the three albums he recorded of Scott Joplin's works for Nonesuch Records, and to classical musicians for his...
, many of the songs on the album featured dramatic orchestral arrangements, a departure from Collins' previous albums, which had all been more straightforward folk music. The album included work by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and Richard Farina
Richard Fariña
Richard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School...
. Collins' version of the song "Suzanne
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)
"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
" is considered to be the recording that first introduced Leonard Cohen's music to a wide audience.
Allmusic stated "Judy Collins was already an accomplished interpretive singer before recording this album, but In My Life found her widening her horizons and revealing an even greater gift than one might have imagined; for the most part, it's a superb album and still one of her best."
Track listing
- "Tom Thumb's BluesJust Like Tom Thumb's Blues"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan. It was originally recorded on August 2, 1965 and released on the album Highway 61 Revisited. The song was later released on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 5:03 - "Hard Lovin' Loser" (Richard FariñaRichard FariñaRichard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School...
) – 2:37 - "Pirate JennyPirate Jenny"Pirate Jenny" is a well-known song from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein...
" (Marc BlitzsteinMarc BlitzsteinMarcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
, Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
, Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
) – 4:02 - "SuzanneSuzanne (Leonard Cohen song)"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
" (Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
) – 4:21 - "La Colombe" (Jacques BrelJacques BrelJacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, Alasdair ClayreAlasdair ClayreAlasdair George S. Clayre was a British man of many talents: author, broadcaster, singer-songwriter, and academic. He was educated at Oxford University and was a Prize Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Clayre took his own life in 1984 by jumping in front of a train.Clayre was born in...
) – 5:03 - "Marat/SadeMarat/SadeThe Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade , almost invariably shortened to Marat/Sade, is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss...
" (Richard PeasleeRichard Peaslee-London:*the Peter Brook / Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Marat/Sade, A Midsummer Night's Dream, US and Antony and Cleopatra;*Peter Hall / National Theatre Animal Farm;*Terry Hands / RSC Tamburlaine the Great;...
) – 5:33 - "I Think It's Going to Rain TodayI Think It's Going to Rain Today"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" is a song written by Randy Newman, and appears on the album Randy Newman, as well as The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 and all of Newman's official and bootleg live albums...
" (Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
) – 2:46 - "Sunny Goodge Street" (DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
) – 2:55 - "Liverpool Lullaby" (Stan Kelly, aka Stan Kelly-BootleStan Kelly-BootleStan Kelly-Bootle is an author of nine books and numerous magazine articles, and songwriter. His most famous song is the Liverpool Lullaby , which Cilla Black recorded in 1969 as the B-side to her pop hit Conversations...
) – 2:57 - "Dress Rehearsal Rag" (Leonard Cohen) – 5:19
- "In My LifeIn My Life"In My Life" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney . The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute. George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge...
" (Lennon/McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) – 2:53
Personnel
- Judy CollinsJudy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
– vocals, guitar, keyboards - Joshua RifkinJoshua RifkinJoshua Rifkin is an American conductor, keyboard player, and musicologist. He is best known by the general public for having played a central role in the ragtime revival in the 1970s with the three albums he recorded of Scott Joplin's works for Nonesuch Records, and to classical musicians for his...
– arranger, conductor - Other musicians uncredited