This happened in 1965, whenJerry Herman’s"Hello, Dolly!"
won, and in 1976, whenStephen Sondheim’s"Send in the Clowns" snagged the award.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did “Send in the Clowns” come into your orbit?
Stephen Sondheim and Judy Collins.Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
And what made you decide to record it?
JUDY COLLINS:A Little Night Musichad just come out.
I put the needle on the cut, and I played “Send in the Clowns.”
Judy Collins and Stephen Sondheim in 1978.Everett Collection
I just sat up and said, “Well, that’s it.”
The name on the cast album was one I recognized.
So I called Hal Prince.
He said, “Well, it’s been recorded already by 200 people.”
I said, “I really don’t care.
I have to sing it.
I have to record it.”
And so then I said to him, “Who should orchestrate it?”
And he said, “Why don’t you go to the source?
Call the guy who did all the orchestrations forA Little Night Music, Jonathan Tunick.”
And I called Jonathan Tunick.
And he said, “Of course, by all means.”
So then we got into the studio and we did it.
His orchestration, which includes the English horn phrase at the top, was one of the great secrets.
It started to go crazy in England.
It was immediately on the charts and was a big hit over there.
I think it was on [them] for 70 weeks or something, which was extraordinary.
And then it was a very big hit here in the States.
And I still sing it.
I sang it last night with the Nashville symphony.
What about it made you immediately want to put your stamp on it?
I can never put those things into words.
Why did I love “Both Sides Now” when I first heard it on the phone?
I don’t know.
Why did I record “Turn, Turn, Turn”?
Why did I pick up “Send in the Clowns”?
It’s because it belonged to me.
You’re almost born with something in that way.
If you have a talent for something you’ve inherited, you just depend upon it.
And when you hear something you know is yours, you have to go for it.
Tell me more about the recording process.
Did it take a lot of tweaking or was it an instant thing?
We had the very best players in New York.
All of the orchestra was first-rate.
And I had everything I wanted, really.
It was a smooth, wonderful, extraordinary experience.
It went out in sort of a lightning flash and went up the charts immediately.
The whole process was exciting, with an incredible reception from radio stations around the country.
It was a whirlwind.
It became one of the only musical theater songs to win the Grammy for Song of the Year.
And of course, Mr. Sondheim did not love the song.
She was singing one that wasn’t working.
We were talking one day and he said, “Glynis Johns' song was not going well.”
But Hal said, “Well, give it to Glynis and have her sing it.”
But he didn’t like it.
Especially for me, because I was not a member of his crowd.
I think he despaired about it.
He was very kind about it for the most part, at least at first.
But he wrote it, and God bless him, because for me, it wasthesong.
Why do you think your version stood out besides, say, Sinatra’s take?
I know the recording had the mark on it that put it into the stratosphere immediately.
Jonathan was the one who used “da, da, da.”
That’s the first thing you hear.
And it is the English horn.
The English horn is an unusual instrument.
And to come up with it in the first place was a stroke of genius.
What do you remember aboutthe night you won the Grammy?
Were you surprised “Send in the Clowns” won Song of the Year?
But you know, in those days I was out on the road all the time.
I didn’t pay any attention to anything that was going on with accolades or pieces in the paper.
Were you at the Grammys that night, then, or were you out touring?
I don’t think I was there.
I’m sure I would’ve remembered.
The person who wrote it got the Grammy.
However, it’s not in my living room.
Well, that’s not fair.
But life is not always fair.
And as far as I’m concerned, it’s a loss which I can take.
I’m a big girl.
Oh, he loved winning.
I mean, Stephen was a winning lover.
He was never unhappy when he won.
I remember something funny.
He came with Hal Prince to see me perform.
I made an album of Sondheim’s songs and did it with an orchestra.
But anyway, he came one night to see me at the Carlyle in New York.
And I said, “How did you like it?”
And Hal said to me, “You know we liked it.
We liked your singing very much.
My making them laugh was actually what got their attention.
There’ve been so many versions of it.
Besides your own, do you have a favorite rendition?
No, no, no.
As you’ve sung it over the years, has the meaning of the song shifted for you?
You have to find out what’s in it at the moment you’re singing it.
He’s a genius and very unpredictable.
Not everybody does it more than once.
And he managed to do that over and over and over again.
And we went through all his shows, and he played many, many things for me.
Usually the material somebody writes for any kind of orchestrated play is orchestrated in a way that takes liberties.
You don’t take liberties with Stephen.
You do what he’s written, and he writes it all.
I love the man.
