JUDY Collins began her impressive music career at 13 as a piano prodigy but the rugged sensitivity of folk-revival music by artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger changed the direction of her career when she asked her father for a guitar and taught herself to play folk by listening to records.
Over 60 years later the acclaimed American songstress is still travelling the world with her interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk. Last month she released her latest album, Strangers Again, where she duets with a host of artists including Willie Nelson, Jeff Bridges, Aled Jones and Don McLean.
"I'm so thrilled with the album. It started out with Strangers Again – I wanted to get this beautiful song out to the world, so I surrounded it with these other great singers and songwriters and it was a wonderful journey for me," the 76-year-old says.
On the album Collins sings the title track with New York singer-songwriter Ari Hest, who accompanies her on her Irish tour. The tour takes in Belfast – her ancestral home.
"I traced my ancestry on my fathers side to 1730s Belfast. They played the pipes and fought in the Irish Civil War and revolutionary war," she recalls with pride.
The album includes James Taylor's song Belfast to Boston, which Collins sings with Marc Cohn, of Walking in Memphis fame.
"I heard that song a number of years ago and decided I wanted to sing it. It's a unique song and I was very intrigued by it," adds Collins, who has fond memories of her trips to Belfast over the past five decades. "I was first in Belfast in 1965 and I stayed and had a good time with the McPeake family."
Collins has worked with a who's who of music over the years including Rufus Wainwright, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen. Her only regret is not to have sung with Pavarotti.
The secret to her longevity and robust touring schedule and travelling across the Atlantic? "I just love it. I lead a pretty healthy lifestyle. I don't drink or eat a lot of junk and I exercise. So that makes it easier to do things."
This is in stark contrast to her teenage years when she battled polio, depression and alcoholism. And her advice to young people starting out in the music industry on how to cope with fame and thrive in the music industry for half a century? "You better love it," she laughs. "Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not, but the main thing is to keep enjoying what you are doing."
Belfast audiences can also look forward to Collins performing favourites including Amazing Grace, Someday Soon and Both Sides Now, from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers.
:: An evening with Judy Collins, with special guest Ari Hest, at the Studio, Belfast's Waterfront Hall on October 9. For tickets visit waterfront.co.uk.
