Interview: Judy Collins

Judy Collins is a true treasure, a singer whose angelic voice made her a key figure in the Greenwich Village folk music scene and beyond.

She has written her own great songs, but Collins is best known for her interpretations of songs written by others. Notably, she was the first to record songs by Leonard Cohen (including “Suzanne” on her 1966 album In My Life), and amongst the first to cover songs by Joni Mitchell (a 1967 hit version of “Both Sides, Now”) and Bob Dylan (including “Masters of War” in 1963). She also recorded hit versions of “Amazing Grace” and “Send in the Clowns”.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the Judy Collins / Stephen Stills concert at the Arlington Theatre on 10/28/17. (Stills, of course, wrote the song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” about Collins.) It was done by phone on 10/9/17. (Anna Webber photo)

Interview: Don Felder

Don Felder joined the Eagles as the band’s lead guitarist in 1974, and helped to push them from their country rock roots to a harder rock ‘n’ roll sound. He remained with the Eagles until the band broke up acrimoniously in 1980, and along the way he wrote the music for the Eagles megahit “Hotel California”, which is regularly ranked as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever written. This song was on the 1976 album Hotel California, which has sold over 32 million copies, a number bested by only a dozen other albums including the Eagles Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which includes some songs on which Felder played guitar. Felder also co-wrote the Eagles song “Victim of Love”.

After the break up, Felder did session work, recorded a couple of songs for the movie Heavy Metal, and released a solo album in 1983 which included the minor hit “Never Surrender”.

In a shock to pretty much everyone, the Eagles, including Felder, re-formed in 1994, touring and releasing a live album called Hell Freezes Over, a reference to Don Henley’s statement that the band would get back together when hell freezes over. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the first year they were nominated.

The Eagles had many disputes over the years, and Felder was fired from the Eagles in early 2001. In 2008, he released a book called Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001), which became a New York Times bestseller. Both his termination and the book led to lawsuits. In fact, since he was fired, Felder’s interactions with some of his former bandmates have reportedly only been through lawyers.

In 2012, Felder released his second solo album Road to Forever, which was written in response to his termination from the Eagles and the break up of his marriage. The album included contributions from some notable guests, and has received a positive response from fans and critics.

This interview was for a preview article for the Soundtrack of Summer Tour concert with Don Felder, Styx, and Foreigner at the Santa Barbara Bowl on 7/27/14. It was done by phone on 6/23/14.

Concert Review: Stephen Stills

Review of Stephen Stills at the Granada Theatre, 5/24/14.

Interview: Jim Messina

Jim Messina is best known for the duo Loggins & Messina, which gave us songs like “Danny’s Song”, “House at Pooh Corner”, and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. But by the time he and Kenny Loggins got together, he had already acquired quite an impressive musical resume, including the following highlights. He was the recording engineer for the album Buffalo Springfield Again, which ultimately led to him joining the band and producing their final album Last Time Around. Then, with Richie Furay from Buffalo Springfield, he co-founded the seminal country-rock band Poco, whose classic first albums he also produced. Next up was Loggins & Messina, which has been described as the most successful pop/rock duo in the first half of the 1970’s.

This interview was for a preview article for his 2/15/14 concert with Richie Furay at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara. It was done by phone on 2/7/14.

Concert Review: Buffalo Springfield

Review of Buffalo Springfield concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 6/8/11.

Photos: Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 6/7/11, with opener Gillian Welch (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)