looking for Judy Collins recording
AnLarg
I am looking for a version of Judy Collins singing "Amazing Grace,"
accompanied by a bagpipe band, for a friend. He heard it probably twenty
years ago and swears it was the most beautiful song he ever heard. He
went for a workshop at a prison with a friend who ran a prison ministry.
They were in a group of forty inmates and the minister put on this
recording. My friend says there was not a dry eye in the room.
I have found copies of this song sung by Judy Collins, but not accompanied
by bagpipe. I am afraid this is some obscure recording released to vinyl
only and long obsolete. Has anyone ever even heard of it? I would
greatly appreciate any information. Thanks.
Al Sato
anl...@aol.com (AnLarg) wrote:
Oooh, that was a while ago. I think it was on "Humpback Whales and
Nightingales." I don't know whether it was re-issued on CD.
Best of luck.
Al
Stewa1
Judy's "Amazing Grace" on "Whales and Nightengales" did not have a bagpipe
band. Judy has recorded this song several times; I don't know of any
version with babpipes. There is one with a symphony orchestra.
Glen Campbell recorded this song with bagpipes for Capitol. A bagpipe
band had an instrumental version on RCA.
Richard L. Hess
AnLarg,
I'm sorry that I did not respond before, but you got so many good
answers. Are you SURE that you heard this?
To the best of my knowledge, there are only three major recordings by
Judy of Amazing Grace. I currently have or have on order all of her
albums known to me...from her 1960's first album recorded at the
Exodus in Colorado to Voices, her latest release. There are at least
two additional video versions that I am aware of.
The first recording appeared originally on "Whales and Nightingales"
(Nov 1970; Certified Gold April 1971) and was recorded at St. Paul's
Chapel on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. It is a
capella with a choir in the background. It runs about 4:04. The choir
included Stacy Keach and many of Judy's friends (according to her
autobiography, Trust Your Heart). This was re-released on the
compilation album, "Colors Of The Day" (May 1972; Certified Gold Jan
1974). These are both on Elektra.
The second recording (or variations of it) is also a capella with a
choir. It runs about 3:50. I just listened to all four albums (I have
Amazing Grace on order, but I do have a not-perfect but good interim
cassette copy of it) and they appear similar if not identical.
This was recorded in Olympic Studios in London according to some liner
notes, but the autobiography refers to Abbey Road studio. Is this a
mistake somewhere or has the studio been renamed? Are there really two
English recordings that run the same time? Some of the liner notes
indicate that Judy's vocal was re-recorded in New York, they sound
similar, but not identical.
Anyway, this version originally appeared on the Telstar UK release
"Amazing Grace" (1985). This has apparently been re-released by rigu
records in The Netherlands, and I have a copy on order with CDEurope.
The Telstar release has been out of print for a while. (Note to anyone
trying to find this for me, hopefully CDE will come through, please
e-mail me before spending any money on my behalf.)
The first US release of this version of Amazing Grace was in 1987 on
the Gold Castle LP "Trust Your Heart." With Gold Castle's demise,
Laserlight re-released the cuts from "Trust Your Heart" and "Sanity
and Grace" in different groupings. Amazing Grace ended up on the
Laserlight release "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1992). It says, "Licensed
from Gold Castle" so we are pretty sure these two are identical. The
final release of this is actually two seconds shorter, and appears on
Judy's "Come Rejoice, A Judy Collins Christmas" (Sep 1994) on the
Mesa/Bluemoon label.
The third version is in the audio book "Amazing Grace" published by
Random House (1991). It is called "A personal recollection and
rendition of the hymn" and contains a narration by Judy of the history
of the hymn. At the end of the tape, she sings it a capella without a
choir, just her, and it includes three verses not found on the other
two recordings. It is a rather plain and haunting version, with little
vocal gymnastics. It runs about 6:43. It would be nice if this were
available on CD or DAT as the duplicated cassette lacks a little
quality. Not bad, but not a CD.
A fourth recording of Amazing Grace is from a concert and appears on
"The Best of Judy Collins" video (1993). It is also a capella, but
she leads the audience in a sing-a-long. It runs about 3:39. Actually,
I believe that this cut on the video (which is behind the credits at
the end) is from Clinton's inaugural ball in '93.
Another video that I have not seen was from a PBS special about
Amazing Grace which I understand Judy was on.
So, I'm sorry, I don't _think_ that she has ever recorded Amazing
Grace with bagpipes, but I do have something sticking in the back of
my mind, too. Perhaps she did that on the PBS special? Perhaps another
TV show? I can tell you where there are NO bagpipes, but I cannot tell
you where they are.
You say 20 years ago, that would place it around 1976...that is after,
but not that long after, the first recording. I do find that very
moving in a nice acoustic, but alas, no bagpipes.
You might try asking her: jcol...@cnct.com
I don't think she responds directly to e-mail, but it is worth a try!
Cheers!
Richard
Stewa1
Someone e-mailed me so wisely that I was wrong about Judy COllins
recording "Amazing Grace" with a symphony orchestra. I should have
revisited Judy's UK "Amazing Grace" CD before I posted that. A lot of the
songs on this CD are performed with The United Kingdom Symphony Orchestra.
But NOT "Amazing Grace," which features Judy and a large choir....now
whales on this one.
Stewa1
>>Another video that I have not seen was from a PBS special about
Amazing Grace which I understand Judy was on<<
This is available on a PBS home video tape and laser disc. It is called
"Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers." Judy is featured with Johnny Cash,
Jeremy Irons, Jessye Norman, Boys Choir of Harlem, etc.
bernar...@gmail.com
>
> So, I'm sorry, I don't _think_ that she has ever recorded Amazing
> Grace with bagpipes, but I do have something sticking in the back of
> my mind, too. Perhaps she did that on the PBS special? Perhaps another
> TV show? I can tell you where there are NO bagpipes, but I cannot tell
> you where they are.
>
> You say 20 years ago, that would place it around 1976...that is after,
> but not that long after, the first recording. I do find that very
> moving in a nice acoustic, but alas, no bagpipes.
>
> You might try asking her: jcol...@cnct.com
>
> I don't think she responds directly to e-mail, but it is worth a try!
>
> Cheers!
>
> Richard
>
> anl...@aol.com (AnLarg) wrote:
>
> >I am looking for a version of Judy Collins singing "Amazing Grace,"
> >accompanied by a bagpipe band, for a friend. He heard it probably twenty
> >years ago and swears it was the most beautiful song he ever heard. He
> >went for a workshop at a prison with a friend who ran a prison ministry.
> >They were in a group of forty inmates and the minister put on this
> >recording. My friend says there was not a dry eye in the room.
> >I have found copies of this song sung by Judy Collins, but not accompanied
> >by bagpipe. I am afraid this is some obscure recording released to vinyl
> >only and long obsolete. Has anyone ever even heard of it? I would
> >greatly appreciate any information. Thanks.
Yes...I heard it as well. It must have been around or slightly before 1970ish. And, yes, it was the most beautiful version I've ever heard until this day. I have also searched with disappointing results and hope I will be able to find that version some day. Thanks for your kindred spirit. Bill