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| A Maid of Constant Sorrow | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1961 | |||
| Recorded | 1961 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 35:26 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Jac Holzman | |||
| Judy Collins chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
A Maid of Constant Sorrow is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released in 1961 on Elektra Records and featuring traditional folk songs.
On the album Collins' voice and guitar are sparsely accompanied by Fred Hellerman on second guitar and Erik Darling on banjo. The title song is a variant of "Man of Constant Sorrow". The selections range from the Scottish anthem "Wild Mountain Thyme" to the Irish standards "Bold Fenian Men" and "The Prickilie Bush". The album also includes more obscure numbers, such as "Tim Evans", "Wars of Germany" and "John Riley".
These songs are in the style of social protest, similar to early recordings by Bob Dylan. They reveal a style from Collins different than her later, better-known releases. In "Tim Evans", written by Ewan MacColl (Grammy award-winning writer in 1972 of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"), she sings of a man wrongfully convicted and hanged for the killing of a woman and child ("Go down, you murderer, go down"), whose exoneration comes only after having been hanged. Her alto vocals on lively songs like "O Daddy Be Gay" contrast with the social message material.
In 2001, Elektra re-released the album on CD with Collins' second album, Golden Apples of the Sun (1962).
All songs traditional, arranged by Judy Collins, except where otherwise noted.
Side one
Side two
Additional musicians
Technical
James Henry Miller, better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the instigators of the 1960s folk revival as well as for writing such songs as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Dirty Old Town".
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The "Scarborough/Whittingham Fair" variant was most common in Yorkshire and Northumbria, where it was sung to various melodies, often using Dorian mode, with refrains resembling "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine." It appears in Traditional Tunes by Frank Kidson published in 1891, who claims to have collected it from Whitby.
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads. The group sold millions of records at the height of their popularity, including the first folk song to reach No. 1 on popular music charts, their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene." Despite their popularity, the Weavers were blacklisted during much of the 1950s.
Restless is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Sara Evans. It was released in August 2003 via RCA Records Nashville. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
"John Riley" is a traditional English folk song. It is also known as "Johnny Riley", "The Broken Token" and "A Fair Young Maid All in Her Garden", among other titles.
Born to Fly is the third studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released in October 2000 via RCA Records Nashville. The album produced four singles with its title track, "I Could Not Ask for More", "Saints & Angels", and "I Keep Looking", all of which reached within the Top 20 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The title track reached number one, "I Could Not Ask for More" and "I Keep Looking" both broke the Top 5 at numbers 2 and 5 respectively, and "Saints & Angels" peaked at number 16. Born to Fly has been Evans' highest-selling album to date, having been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for U.S. sales of two million copies. The album was also one of the most successful of the year. Evans was nominated for five CMA Awards: Album of the Year; song, single, and music video ; and Female Vocalist of the Year. She won her first CMA award for music video of the year. The international version of the album includes a bonus track, "You", which was later released in North America as a bonus track on her 2005 album Real Fine Place. Born to Fly was a defining album for Evans. Her earlier albums had more of a neotraditional country sound, while all of her later albums had a more crossover-friendly country pop sound, similar to Martina McBride and Faith Hill.
"Man of Constant Sorrow" is a traditional American folk song first published by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally titled "Farewell Song" in a songbook by Burnett dated to around 1913. A version recorded by Emry Arthur in 1928 gave the song its current titles.
Eric Weissberg was an American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist, whose most commercially successful recording was his banjo solo in "Dueling Banjos," featured as the theme of the film Deliverance (1972) and released as a single that reached number 2 in the United States and Canada in 1973.
"The Maid Freed from the Gallows" is one of many titles of a centuries-old folk song about a condemned maiden pleading for someone to buy her freedom from the executioner. In the collection of ballads compiled by Francis James Child in the late 19th century, it is indexed as Child Ballad number 95; 11 variants, some fragmentary, are indexed as 95A to 95K. The Roud Folk Song Index identifies it as number 144.
Living is a 1971 live album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1971. The album is taken from performances on the singer's 1970 concert tour. It peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard 200 charts.
True Stories and Other Dreams is the ninth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1973. It peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.
Fifth Album is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1965. It peaked at No. 69 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
"Wild Mountain Thyme" is a Scottish/Irish folk song. The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829), but were adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake (1885–1971) into "Wild Mountain Thyme" and first recorded by his family in the 1950s.
Jay Berliner is an American guitarist who has worked with Harry Belafonte, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, and Van Morrison, among others.
Golden Apples of the Sun is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1962.
Judy Collins #3 is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1963. It spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Pop album charts in 1964, peaking at No. 126.
Times of Our Lives is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Judy Collins, released in February 1982 by Elektra Records. It peaked at No. 190 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. In 1981, prior to the album's release, Collins appeared on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light, performing two songs from the (then) forthcoming album: "Great Expectations" and "It's Gonna Be One of Those Nights".
"A Sailor’s Life" is an English language folk song which describes the attempt of a young woman to find her lover, a sailor. Eventually she hears that he has drowned and mourns him.
Whatever Tickles Your Fancy is the third solo album by Irish folk musician Christy Moore, released in 1975.
"Come Away Melinda" is a song written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff. An anti-war song, its first release was by Harry Belafonte in May 1963. The song was subsequently recorded by many other singers.
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