Editing Judy Collins (section)

==Early life==
Collins was born the eldest of five siblings in [[Seattle]] where she lived for the first ten years of her life. Her father, Chuck Collins (a [[visual impairment|blind]] singer, pianist, and radio show host) took a job in [[Denver]] in 1949 and the family moved there. Her grandfather on her father's side was Irish.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ellie |last=O'Byrne |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30977085.html |title=The songs that matter most to Judy Collins from her 60-year career |newspaper=[[Irish Examiner]] |issn=1393-9564 |location=Cork |language=en-ie |date=January 22, 2020 |access-date=March 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.irishmusicdaily.com/blog/judy-collins-on-her-love-of-irish-music |title=Judy Collins speaks about her love of Irish music |first=Patrick |last=Kehoe |date=November 29, 2021 |website=irishmusicdaily.com}}</ref> 

Judy Collins contracted [[polio]] at the age of 11 and spent two months in isolation in a hospital.<ref>{{cite web|author=Interview by Wendy Schuman|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Celebrities/Judy-Collins-Tell-The-Truth-No-Matter-How-Hard.aspx|title=Judy Collins tells Beliefnet how she used meditation and prayer to cope with illness and her son's suicide.|publisher=Beliefnet.com|date=February 17, 2011|access-date=October 16, 2012}}</ref> She grew up listening to the [[Irish traditional music|traditional Irish music]] her father sang. She did not know what folk music was when she was young. She said, "I just thought it was probably [[Rodgers and Hart]]. Those were the songs he (her father) sang on the radio. I didn't understand until I discovered [[The Whistling Gypsy|''The Gypsy Rover'']] and [[Barbara Allen (song)|''Barbara Allen'']] when I was 15. I didn't realize I had been singing ''[[Danny Boy]]'' all of that time... ''Danny Boy'' was a folk song.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://irishmusicdaily.com/blog/judy-collins-on-her-love-of-irish-music |title=Judy Collins Speaks About Her Love of Irish Music|first=Patrick|last=Kehoe|date=November 29, 2021|access-date=June 6, 2024|website=irishmusicdaily.com}}</ref>