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You Made Me Love You: Judy Garland's Nightclub Debut Restored for Premiere Release

April 10, 2023 By Joe Marchese 9 Comments

Judy Garland The Lost Vegas Show

ORDER NOW FROM HIGH DEFINITION TAPE TRANSFERS

Judy Garland wasn't even 35 years of age when she quipped on the stage of Las Vegas' New Frontier Hotel, "That's the noisiest, loudest opening number...I'm getting a little old for it!  Without taking a step, I get tired!"  If the superstar was, in fact, tired, she hardly showed it.  Thanks to the High Definition Tape Transfers label, the opening night of Garland's first Las Vegas engagement is now available in sparkling sound for all to enjoy.  The Lost Vegas Show premieres the ebullient performance of July 16, 1956 in various high-resolution digital formats and on CD, as transferred from an original quarter-inch mono tape long rumored to exist but never before released to the public.

Though Garland had performed in vaudeville and on concert stages including the Palace Theatre on Broadway and the London Palladium, nightclubs were unfamiliar territory.  But the deal offered by the New Frontier - $55,000.00/week per liner notes author Lawrence Schulman, the largest such sum offered to a nightclub entertainer to that point - was too appealing to turn down.  She would perform two 68-minute shows nightly (7:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.) in the Venus Room, supported by eight singer-dancers and the orchestra of her brother-in-law Jack Cathcart, for four weeks.  The demand was so high that a fifth week was quickly added.  Audiences and critics alike were captivated, and thanks to this electrifying live document, it's not hard to see why.

Garland was at her full-throated, emotionally invested best both on the nostalgic moments ("Judy's Olio," featuring her MGM classics "You Made Me Love You," "The Boy Next Door," and "The Trolley Song") and the songs she had recently recorded for Capitol Records (a number of which she would be performing for the first time live onstage).  She plugged her recent Capitol release Judy with sizzling renditions of the bright "Lucky Day" and two torrid Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer standards from the score of St. Louis Woman, "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home," introducing the former with praise for Arlen, "just about the greatest living composer."  She also performed his and E.Y. Harburg's "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe," a highlight of her 1955 Capitol long-player Miss Show Business, dedicating it to her 15-month son Joey Luft.  Roger Edens' swingin' adaptation of the Irish folk ballad "A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow," introduced by Judy onscreen in 1940's Little Nellie Kelly, was likewise reprised from Miss Show Business.

Judy enjoyed a handful of breathers with Roger Edens and Kay Thompson's special material performed by The Eight Boyfriends ("A Hot Time in the Old Town," "This Is Our Spot," "What's Next? What'll She Do Now?") and remained in high spirits and good humor throughout the concert.  The inevitable "Over the Rainbow" can't help but be affecting in its sheer vulnerability and raw emotion.  Sadly, Garland's three encores ("Liza," "After You're Gone," and "Swanee") have not survived, although her introduction and the few surviving seconds of "Liza" are included as bonus tracks.

The original mono tape has been painstakingly restored for this release by Robert Witrak and mastered by John H. Haley.  There are some inherent deficiencies in the recording itself; Garland performed "Over the Rainbow" off-microphone and the voices of her "Boyfriends" are occasionally distant.  There's never any doubt, however, that the historical significance of this recording far outweighs any sonic shortcomings.  The clarity of this restoration is often stunning.

Judy Garland took the New Frontier act on the road, recreating it at the Palace in September 1956.  The Lost Vegas Show fills a major gap in her discography and is surely a release to be savored.  It's available for order now directly from High Definition Tape Transfers at the link below; you can peruse the track listing and digital liner notes there (including a recreation of the original menu at the Venus Room - a prix fixe for $7.50!).  Miss Show Business is back!

Judy Garland, The Lost Vegas Show - New Frontier Hotel, July 16, 1956 (High Definition Tape Transfers, 2023)

  1. A Hot Time in the Old Town
  2. This Is a Party
  3. Dialog
  4. Judy's Olio: You Made Me Love You/The Boy Next Door/The Trolley Song
  5. Dialog
  6. Come Rain or Come Shine
  7. This Is Our Spot
  8. Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
  9. Dialog
  10. A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow
  11. Dialog
  12. Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe
  13. Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
  14. What's Next? What'll She Do Now?
  15. Lucky Day
  16. Orchestral Interlude: The Trolley Song
  17. Over the Rainbow
  18. Orchestral: Over the Rainbow
  19. Dialog Introducing Encores
  20. Opening Notes of 'Liza'/End of Tape

Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Judy Garland

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. zally says

    April 10, 2023 at 2:03 pm

    question. is their a fan base of hers thats still alive. this release is way to late. i dont think that there are any new garland fans.am i wrong ?

    Reply
    • Diane says

      April 10, 2023 at 5:28 pm

      As long as new generations watch The Wizard Of Oz & A Star Is Born, we will always have new Judy Garland fans.

      Reply
    • The Rock Snob says

      April 10, 2023 at 5:31 pm

      Are there still gay men on the planet? Judy will always have a "base" that's not deceased.

      Reply
    • Sheldon Cooper says

      April 10, 2023 at 5:45 pm

      Really looking forward to hearing these restored releases! Thanks to the wonderful Lawrence Schulman, and friends, we are getting top quality recordings restored . The great Judy Garland is not only one of the greatest singers of all-time she is also one of the most loved and talked about entertainers, these many decades after her passing. Great art, never dies!!!

      Reply
    • Sheldon Cooper says

      April 10, 2023 at 6:07 pm

      Yes, you are very wrong. That's like asking if any of the Greats still have a fan base. Any true lovers of music, art, movies etc, will always want to hear, see or acknowledge the greats. Only listening to current popular music or art, is to denie yourself a wealth of enjoyment and knowledge. There is no age limit, to discovering the Greats who continue to make people happy.

      Reply
  2. Dana says

    April 10, 2023 at 6:03 pm

    Let's see...Does Hendrix still have a fanbase? Janis Joplin? Will Aretha's fanbase be dwindling soon, too? Garland's reach is far beyond gay men. Few other vocalists possess the style or familiarity that she had with a lyric. Her dexterity & stamina are unmatched. And as polished as she was she equally as rough & gritty. Garland is unmistakably Garland & her intrigue is what maintains her "vintage" fanbase & is what continues to expand it. It is her technique rather than her camp that continues to appeal to old & new enthusiasts.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      April 10, 2023 at 9:18 pm

      100% this, Dana! I’m not a gay man and I’m not (last I checked) too far over the hill and I can’t wait to hear this!

      Great talents always have fans. I can’t imagine limiting myself to any era of music when there’s so much out there to enjoy.

      Reply
    • zally says

      April 12, 2023 at 6:39 pm

      hi dana.yes hendrix does and i am one whois yes buying the new releases by him.

      Reply
  3. zally says

    April 11, 2023 at 6:37 am

    question was answered, thanks

    Reply

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