‘Walls Are There To Be Broken’

Grammy Hall of Fame member Judy Collins, who will be honored at this year’s 11^th annual She Rocks Awards along with Fitz & The Tantrums’ Noelle Scaggs and multiplatinum-selling songwriter Shelly Peiken, is all about an award that salutes female innovators and trailblazers in the music and audio industry.

Noting the awards event, which will take place April 13 during the NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif., “has the ability to inspire other people to not be afraid to take risks and break down the barriers,” the singer/songwriter whose career spans more than six decades, adds, “It’s terribly important to me that it’s possible. Girls don’t always get the kind of breaks or the kind of attention that they should. So I think when people see an award like this they understand that the walls are there to be broken.”

Collins has never been one to shy away from social activism. And while she’s encouraged by some of the doors that have been opened for women and girls, she points out “in some areas, it’s changing for the worse.

“Our reproductive rights are being threatened… our lives in terms of our bodies and the management of our health by our doctors and ourselves, is being threatened, certainly around this county. I don’t claim to know what’s going on in other parts of the world. But I think we have a real, terrible problem here and it’s got to be dealt with.”

And while inroads are being made in the work force, Collins opines, “I’m not sure that we are all paid equally. I don’t know that equal pay for equal work is happening without bumps in the road, but it’s getting better.”

The focus of She Rocks is not based on chart positions or sales, but on the impact created by those it celebrates. The awards look to honor those who paved the way and made the road to success in the industry smoother and more inclusive.

“I often think about my own life as a performer in terms of the jobs that I’ve created. I’ve been doing this for 63 years and I have kept people working, I have paid their salaries, I have contributed to their lifestyle by giving them music that is inspiring,” Collins says.

“I’ve supported theaters around the country and around the world. Paid their bills and their turning on the lights. I have done this in terms of the record industry—spent a lot of time making records and selling them to people, which of course makes money for the record industry. I’ve put my elbow grease and my hard-earned time into keeping these organizations alive. They employ a lot of people, including women.”

Past She Rocks honorees have included The Bangles, Pat Benatar, Melissa Etheridge, Gloria Gaynor, The Go-Go’s, Lzzy Hale, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, and Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson from the B-52’s.