I'm attracted to Garland like a butterfly to a lamplight...
It’s always hard to define where the fascination come from, what an artist legacy do to you that counts more than – well more probably than anything else in the world. Judy has been in my life since I was a little kid, the Wizard of Oz, A Couple of Swells, the songs, A Star is born… But I really turned into a Judy nutter in 2007 when I’ve started discovering more about her life, which I didn't know well, and watching her films, discovering her TV shows too, her concerts too… And then you realize the spectrum of Judy Garland’s legacy, and I forget to mention her radio appearances, TV appearances, war effort…
I can’t stomach people who say: “To my generation, Judy Garland is seen as an icon of years passed. Known for “The Wizard of Oz” and little else amongst the modern youth, she fails to evoke the nostalgia and grace that Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly can still effortlessly command. To many, Garland produced Dorothy Gale, Liza Minnelli and nothing more. That the young girl who enchanted the world with a wish to fly over the rainbow would go on to lead such a pitiful and hopeless life is undeniably tragic. However, this story is no longer told and often forgotten.” Because it’s just a sign of ignorance, a lack of culture, and anyone who shows interest in Entertainment should stop a while on Judy’s career that spanned over 4 decades and cover every field of the Entertainment world.
Anyway, I will never stop defending Judy, the way most Judy’s fans defend her, because she was and still remains unknown and treated badly. Judy wasn't a drug addict in the way most of contemporary artists are, she never touched cocaine or heroine and was put under Benzedrine and sleeping pills at an age that should shock everyone of us nowadays, 12, 13 years old… She’s been overworked, used and abused and was aware of that, and aware of the fact, probably that she couldn't help but being in that position.
Judy has never been given the chance to be independent and has always been controlled from a very young age, her mother, Mayer and MGM, she looked for mentors to free herself from those dictators, Levant, Power, Mankiewicz, Shaw… But I guess when you've been used like a puppet from an early age to the beginning of adulthood you can’t do anything but repeat it throughout your life, through your husband, publicist, press agents…
When you listen to Judy talking about her life, you discover how aware she was of her success-failure-fatigue-overweight-thinness-tragic life, but a philosophy rise above it, a very simple one: “My beliefs being a way of laughter, loving your children, loving life, enjoying a bag of popcorn, liking a roller coaster ride”
And let’s never forget the joy, happiness, crazy sense of humor the Great lady had, just listening to her anecdote watch her in films like Easter Parade or Harvey Girls… her appearances on the Jack Paar Show or with Dick Cavett, her hilarious anecdotes… “there's an awful lot of baggy pants comedy in me.”
James Mason’s eulogy his probably the most accurate portrait of Judy: “The thing about Judy Garland was that she was so alive. You close your eyes and you see a small vivid woman sometimes fat, sometimes thin, but vivid. Vivacity, vitality - that's what our Judy had, and still has as far as I'm concerned. I did not see much of her during the last ten years. Maybe I saw her sometimes when she was low or sick or not at the top of her form but it did not in the least impair the unbreakable image which remained constant - unchanged even up to and including today.”… “The little girl whom I knew who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead, when she was good she was not only very, very good, she was the most sympathetic, the funniest, the sharpest and the most stimulating woman I ever knew.”
How to defend Judy Garland, first by giving a clear retrospective of her multiple talents: singing, dancing, acting, and writing. As John Fricke said and keeps on saying, if you want to understand Garland, watch and listen, and the hell with the gossips and sensationalism, that’s rubbish
The story of my life is in my songs, claimed she and so be it.
If you want to know Judy, listen to her songs from Blue Butterfly (1929) to I’d like to Hate myself in the Morning (1969). I hate when people reduce Judy as an MGM entertainer and refuse to acknowledge her talent, incredible talent as a singer. Like, just because she’s the product of Hollywood she couldn't reach the pedestal Billie Holiday or Edith Piaf are put on?
Well just take any song Judy song, from the standard to the song written especially for her, she covers all the American Songbook from the beginning of the 20th Century to the end of the Sixties. Not only was she able to capture the essence of a song after listening to it twice, but the way she delivered it, her tempo, her amazing story-telling chanteuse quality, the emotion she gives, listen to A Cottage for Sale, her whole life is concentrated in the song, the raw and genuine emotion. Genuine… That was Judy, no artifact, even in a repeated pattern like the Palace Show or the 1961 Tour, always connected to her emotions and the present of the performance. Listen to Carnegie Hall, but also Amsterdam, Paris, Manhattan Center, London Palladium with Liza, Palladium 51, the two Palace’s album, Coconut Grove…
My favourite Judy is the one from the Sixties, I love her new choice of songs, the massive selection she did for her TV show, I cherish the swinging thirties, love the MGM songs, a little less the 50’s albums…although Alone and The Letter are some of my frequent listening… The thing is, I think you can capture Judy’s talent specifically when she sings live, to an audience, because her generosity as a performer is a bit restrained I feel in a recording studio. I think I like her more in the 60’s because the voice become frailer still powerful but croaking a bit, just like Billie in her last recordings… Judy Garland is as big a singer as Billie Holiday, they both are blues women or torch singer but also able to swing madly… “Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S! And talk about soul! That woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself.” Aretha Franklin
It’s always hard to define where the fascination come from, what an artist legacy do to you that counts more than – well more probably than anything else in the world. Judy has been in my life since I was a little kid, the Wizard of Oz, A Couple of Swells, the songs, A Star is born… But I really turned into a Judy nutter in 2007 when I’ve started discovering more about her life, which I didn't know well, and watching her films, discovering her TV shows too, her concerts too… And then you realize the spectrum of Judy Garland’s legacy, and I forget to mention her radio appearances, TV appearances, war effort…
I can’t stomach people who say: “To my generation, Judy Garland is seen as an icon of years passed. Known for “The Wizard of Oz” and little else amongst the modern youth, she fails to evoke the nostalgia and grace that Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly can still effortlessly command. To many, Garland produced Dorothy Gale, Liza Minnelli and nothing more. That the young girl who enchanted the world with a wish to fly over the rainbow would go on to lead such a pitiful and hopeless life is undeniably tragic. However, this story is no longer told and often forgotten.” Because it’s just a sign of ignorance, a lack of culture, and anyone who shows interest in Entertainment should stop a while on Judy’s career that spanned over 4 decades and cover every field of the Entertainment world.
Anyway, I will never stop defending Judy, the way most Judy’s fans defend her, because she was and still remains unknown and treated badly. Judy wasn't a drug addict in the way most of contemporary artists are, she never touched cocaine or heroine and was put under Benzedrine and sleeping pills at an age that should shock everyone of us nowadays, 12, 13 years old… She’s been overworked, used and abused and was aware of that, and aware of the fact, probably that she couldn't help but being in that position.
Judy has never been given the chance to be independent and has always been controlled from a very young age, her mother, Mayer and MGM, she looked for mentors to free herself from those dictators, Levant, Power, Mankiewicz, Shaw… But I guess when you've been used like a puppet from an early age to the beginning of adulthood you can’t do anything but repeat it throughout your life, through your husband, publicist, press agents…
When you listen to Judy talking about her life, you discover how aware she was of her success-failure-fatigue-overweight-thinness-tragic life, but a philosophy rise above it, a very simple one: “My beliefs being a way of laughter, loving your children, loving life, enjoying a bag of popcorn, liking a roller coaster ride”
And let’s never forget the joy, happiness, crazy sense of humor the Great lady had, just listening to her anecdote watch her in films like Easter Parade or Harvey Girls… her appearances on the Jack Paar Show or with Dick Cavett, her hilarious anecdotes… “there's an awful lot of baggy pants comedy in me.”
James Mason’s eulogy his probably the most accurate portrait of Judy: “The thing about Judy Garland was that she was so alive. You close your eyes and you see a small vivid woman sometimes fat, sometimes thin, but vivid. Vivacity, vitality - that's what our Judy had, and still has as far as I'm concerned. I did not see much of her during the last ten years. Maybe I saw her sometimes when she was low or sick or not at the top of her form but it did not in the least impair the unbreakable image which remained constant - unchanged even up to and including today.”… “The little girl whom I knew who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead, when she was good she was not only very, very good, she was the most sympathetic, the funniest, the sharpest and the most stimulating woman I ever knew.”
How to defend Judy Garland, first by giving a clear retrospective of her multiple talents: singing, dancing, acting, and writing. As John Fricke said and keeps on saying, if you want to understand Garland, watch and listen, and the hell with the gossips and sensationalism, that’s rubbish
The story of my life is in my songs, claimed she and so be it.
If you want to know Judy, listen to her songs from Blue Butterfly (1929) to I’d like to Hate myself in the Morning (1969). I hate when people reduce Judy as an MGM entertainer and refuse to acknowledge her talent, incredible talent as a singer. Like, just because she’s the product of Hollywood she couldn't reach the pedestal Billie Holiday or Edith Piaf are put on?
Well just take any song Judy song, from the standard to the song written especially for her, she covers all the American Songbook from the beginning of the 20th Century to the end of the Sixties. Not only was she able to capture the essence of a song after listening to it twice, but the way she delivered it, her tempo, her amazing story-telling chanteuse quality, the emotion she gives, listen to A Cottage for Sale, her whole life is concentrated in the song, the raw and genuine emotion. Genuine… That was Judy, no artifact, even in a repeated pattern like the Palace Show or the 1961 Tour, always connected to her emotions and the present of the performance. Listen to Carnegie Hall, but also Amsterdam, Paris, Manhattan Center, London Palladium with Liza, Palladium 51, the two Palace’s album, Coconut Grove…
My favourite Judy is the one from the Sixties, I love her new choice of songs, the massive selection she did for her TV show, I cherish the swinging thirties, love the MGM songs, a little less the 50’s albums…although Alone and The Letter are some of my frequent listening… The thing is, I think you can capture Judy’s talent specifically when she sings live, to an audience, because her generosity as a performer is a bit restrained I feel in a recording studio. I think I like her more in the 60’s because the voice become frailer still powerful but croaking a bit, just like Billie in her last recordings… Judy Garland is as big a singer as Billie Holiday, they both are blues women or torch singer but also able to swing madly… “Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S! And talk about soul! That woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself.” Aretha Franklin