Episode 148. Judy Garland @100 (Pride 2022)
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On Friday 10 June 2022, Judy Garland celebrates her 100th birthday. My Pride 2022 series kicks off with a close examination of Judy’s status as gay icon, as well as my claim that Garland was, is, and remains the world’s greatest entertainer of all time. As always with Countermelody, the proof is in the performances, and I share a generous sampling of recordings, primarily from the final years of Judy’s life, that bolster that claim. Included are performances of songs by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Ted Koehler, Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Jule Styne, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, Gilbert Bécaud, Wright and Forrest, Schwartz and Dietz, Charles Chaplin, and others, in live recordings from The Judy Garland Show, which ran for a single season in 1963-64; live concert performances from New York, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Philadelphia, and Copenhagen; and a smattering of rare studio recordings. I also discuss the impact of Judy’s enormous talent impact on my own life, as well as her still-substantial numbers of worldwide fans. Vocal guest stars include two other classic gay icons, Barbra Streisand, and Judy’s own daughter, Liza Minnelli.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Bronislaw Kaper, Walter Jurmann, Gus Kahn, additonal material by Roger Edens: San Francisco. Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey [live Carnegie Hall 23.IV.61]
Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler: Stormy Weather. Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor [studio recording, 08.60]
Medley: Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler: Get Happy; Milton Ager, Jack Yellen: Happy Days Are Here Again. Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 04.X.63, first telecast 06.X.63]
Jule Styne, Bob Merrill: Don’t Rain on My Parade (Funny Girl). Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Orchestra conducted by Harry Robinson [live London Palladium 08.XI.64]
Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin: The Man that Got Away (A Star Is Born). Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor [live Paris 28.X.60]
Medley: Cole Porter: I Love Paris (Can Can); Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg: April in Paris. Judy Garland, David Lee [live Paris 28.X.60]
J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie: You Go To My Head. Judy Garland, Norrie Paramor, Jos Cleber’s Cosmopolitan Orchestra [live Amsterdam 10.XII.1960]
Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart: You’re Nearer (Too Many Girls film). Judy Garland, David Lee [live Amsterdam 10.XII.1960]
Robert Wright, George Forrest: Sweet Danger (Kean). Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey [1961]
Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner: Too Late Now (Royal Wedding). Judy Garland [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 24.VI.63, first telecast 08.XII.63]
Willard Robison, Larry Conley: A Cottage for Sale. Judy Garland [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 07.VII.63, first telecast 10.XI.63]
Traditional US-American, Julia Ward Howe: Battle Hymn of the Republic. Judy Garland, Orchestra and chorus conducted by Mort Lindsey [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 13.XII.63, first telecast 12.I.64]
Charles Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons: Smile. Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 31.I.64, first telecast 16.II.64]
Gilbert Bécaud, Carl Sigman: What Now, My Love? [Et maintenant]. Judy Garland, Bobby Cole’s Orchestra [live Palace Theater, New York 31.VII.67]
Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz: By Myself. Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Gene Palumbo [live Philadelphia 20.VII.68]
Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green: Just In Time (Bells Are Ringing). Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Tony Osborne [live Copenhagen 25.III.69]
Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh: Here’s To Us (Little Me). Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey [The Judy Garland Show, recorded 13.III.64, first telecast 29.III.64]
Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg: Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz). Judy Garland, Orchestra conducted by Max Meth [live at The Palace, New York 24.II.52]
