Celebrating Judy Garland And Her Legacy In Twenty Videos

We were settled in for bed, the light was off, the glow of the moon filled the slits of the Venetian Blinds and the hum of the oscillating fan filled the night air. It was after eleven and my eyes were closed, having been at half-mast for the last hour. I was ready for sleep. In the quiet of the dimming day, my husband said, into the darkness, "What's your favorite Judy Garland song?"

My eyes were open. There would be no sleep, for a while.

My favorite Judy Garland song? Is that a thing? No, really, is that something that people do? Couldn't I just choose which of my children is my favorite? Or maybe I could pick a favorite grandson? How about picking a favorite day, out of my whole life, instead? No. He wanted to know what my favorite Judy Garland song is. But that isn't possible. It isn't possible because there is a different Judy Garland song available for every occasion, for every emotion, for every experience. I knew what my gut response was but I had to really stop and think about it for a few minutes, reason it out, and make the best and most authentic answer possible because, even though this was just an innocuous moment out of the week, I wanted to be authentic. It would have been so easy to be interesting and say "A Great Lady Has An Interview" and go to sleep. But, no: I went with my gut reaction.

"My favorite Judy Garland song, since I'm twelve years old, is "It Never Was You" and it was off of an album my parents gave me for Christmas, I didn't see the movie I Could Go On Singing until I was in my twenties. But my favorite Judy Garland performance is actually from I Could Go On Singing and it's the "By Myself" in the red dress because it's so raw and angry and it's a great thing to watch whenever you're having an emotion, although whenever I'm in a bad mood, I listen to "Gotta Have Me Go With You" because it makes me happy. The most fun Judy Garland song to listen to is "Chicago" because it's so vibrant and alive, but so is the "This Can't Be Love" medley from Carnegie Hall, which completely epitomizes everything she stood for in her storytelling. And the best video of Judy singing is the Mort Lindsay arrangement of "Just In Time" with all the unique rhythms and syncopation. But the truth is that the song I listen to most of all is the soundtrack version of "The Man That Got Away." What's yours?"

And my husband, Pat Dwyer, in all of his frustrating and irritating simplicity said, "Dorothy singing "Over The Rainbow." Oh... and "Cottage For Sale." Those are my favorites."

Well, I guess it can be done.

For other people.

Today is the day that Judy Garland would have turned one hundred years old. To celebrate the occasion, I have collected ten of my personal favorite Judy Garland performances, and ten of my personal favorite covers of Judy Garland songs.

I hope the Broadway World Cabaret readers will enjoy them, and that some of them might be new to some of our readers.

Happy Birthday, Judy. And thank you.

1. Chicago

2. It Only Happens When I Dance With You from the movie Easter Parade

3. Just In Time

4. By Myself from the movie I Could Go On Singing

5. Cottage For Sale

6. Barn Dance from the movie Summer Stock

7. Never Will I Marry

8. A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow from the movie Little Nellie Kelly

9. Judy At The Palace Medley

10. Over The Rainbow from the movie The Wizard of Oz

11. Get Happy, performed by Natalie Douglas

12. The Man That Got Away, performed by Andrew Rannells

13. I Wish I Were In Love Again, performed by Amanda McBroom

14. Embraceable You, performed by Nathan Lee Graham

15. Mack The Black, performed by Dolores Gray

16. Lose That Long Face, performed by Billy Stritch

17. Almost Like Being In Love/This Can't Be Love, performed by Dame Shirley Bassey

18. You Made Me Love You, performed by Matt Doyle

19. Come Rain Or Come Shine, performed by Dame Cleo Laine

20. Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart, performed by Jim Bailey

To post a comment, you must register and login.