‘Sweet Judy Blue Eyes’ Judy Collins Launches The Rose

Collins, in addition to playing and singing beautifully, added some quips between songs that only a veteran of the music business could get away with. – Photo by Terry Miller

By Terry Miller

How fitting that on Valentine’s Day legendary songwriter Judy Collins, complete with her 12-string Martin acoustic, wit, and repartee, helped unveil the Rose, Pasadena’s newest night spot last Sunday.
The packed house of 700-plus came to see one of the most iconic singers of the 1960s and 1970s.
They were not disappointed. Collins, in addition to playing and singing beautifully, added some quips between songs that only a veteran of the music business could get away with.
Lance Sterling, owner of The Rose also owns popular Canyon Club in Agoura Hills and the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Sterling has transformed the former Gelson’s supermarket at 245 E. Green St. into a really cool venue where if you love music and food you will be right at home.
You will also see a plethora of signed guitars and music memorabilia. “I have a lot of stuff that has been in my garage for years, now I have a place to show it,” Sterling says.
With a custom sound system, lighting, and a $3 million investment in technology, the 39,000 square foot club will feature two full bars, a raised VIP area, and will not be pretentious like some other L.A. area clubs that feature live bands.
Opening night was definitely a success for Sterling and his efficient and friendly staff. But having a legend in-house was certainly a thrill for the boomer audience last Sunday.
Collins’ debut album “A Maid of Constant Sorrow” was released in 1961, but it was her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now”, the lead single from her 1967 album “Wildflowers,” that gave Collins international prominence. The single hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and won Collins her first Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance. She enjoyed further success with her covers of “Someday Soon,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Cook with Honey.”
Collins experienced the biggest success of her career with her cover of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” from her best-selling 1975 album “Judith.” The single charted on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1975 and then again in 1977, spending 27 nonconsecutive weeks on the chart and earning Collins a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, as well as a Grammy Award for Sondheim for Song of the Year.
After songwriter Stephen Stills split from fellow songwriter Collins, he crafted “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” to express his feelings about the romantic involvement. The title is a play on “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes” – which is what Collins ended up titling her autobiography. The word “suite” in music also depicts an ordered set of musical pieces, which Crosby, Stills, and Nash play out in the seven-minute-plus song.
The Rose will eventually see many of the same artists who perform at The Canyon Club and Saban Theatre. Those include blues guitarist Robert Cray, Todd Rundgren (one of Sterling’s favorites), among a long list of artists.

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