One thing is obvious about Johnny Winter, the albino blues guitarist: regardless of his virtuoso playing, he could have found fame on his charisma alone.Īt Massey Hall last night (where he performed two shows to a total of more than 3,000 fans) you couldn't take your eyes off him. Will you come see me Thursdays and Saturdays? Yet, as Stills so eloquently points out in Suite: Judy Blue Eyes:

Suzanne is an exception, but there aren't many songs like that. I don't play the older ones because they aren't enough a part of me. There aren't many things I can still stand to do after three or four years. 'Most of my stage repertoire is from the last two or three albums. Most of her following comes from several years on the one-nighter circuit. She has nine albums on the market, and although they've done well, Judy is not in the sales heavyweight class of say, an Aretha Franklin. There doesn't seem to be anybody quite as good. 'I sing a lot of Joni Mitchell's songs because I like them immensely.

'I can generally tell by reading the lyrics once or twice whether it is worth exploring. 'I have lots of new songs offered to me every week,' she said. Like other folk singers, she is eminently aware of the importance of good song material, which is usually harder to find than a golf ball in the rough. Judy prefers not to talk about Stills these days, and predictably, devotes most of her interview time to her music, her writing, Joni Mitchell's songs and her concert program. It left an indelible mark on her life and may account for her rejection of Stills. Married at 18, Judy was divorced a few years later and lost custody of her son for five years. The song is probably more suited to being Judy's theme song, rather than just a song she got from another composer. Yet there is another love affair in the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young clan - Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash have quite a thing going.Īnd it was Joni who wrote Judy's biggest hit, Both Sides Now, an amazingly mature tale of the other side of love. Lulu marrying Robin Gibb was probably the rockiest romance of 1969. It's rather a touching story, all the more so because romance is not common in pop. Trouble is that while Judy - who arrives in Toronto tomorrow for a concert at Massey Hall - reportedly shares in the affection, she isn't prepared to abandon her booming career to become his lady at that huge house he rents in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. Stills, a sensitive, quietly spoken young man from the South, is deeply in love with Judy Collins, to whom the Suite is dedicated. The song was written and is sung by Stephen Stills, former member of the Buffalo Springfield. So goes the final verse of a currently popular song called Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Lacy lilting lady, losing love lamenting,

Words to suite judy blue eyes