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Friday, June 10, marks the 100th birthday of Judy Garland. Though the superstar died on June 22, 1969, her legacy burns brighter than ever today. In honor of the Garland centennial, and of Pride Month 2022, a number of releases will soon become available. A very special event is also happening this Sunday, June 5, in New York City.
Universal Japan is celebrating Garland's discography at Capitol Records with a series of ten reissues in the UHQCD format (playable in all CD players) coming on June 8. Judy made her album debut on the venerable label founded by Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn Wallichs with 1955's Miss Show Business. With arrangements by Garland's longtime collaborator Roger Edens and Hal Mooney conducted by Jack Cathcart, the album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. She would go on to record six more studio LPs for Capitol through 1962: Judy (1956, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle), Alone (1957, arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins), Judy in Love (1958, again with Riddle), The Letter (1959, an ambitious concept album written, arranged, and conducted by Jenkins), That's Entertainment (1960, arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall, additional arrangements by Conrad Salinger), and The Garland Touch (a 1962 "grab bag" with six tracks recorded in London, 1960, as well as four previously released songs). The latter would be Garland's final studio album of her lifetime.
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All seven of those studio albums are part of the Universal Japan reissue series as well as three live sets: 1959's Garland at the Grove; 1965's Live at the London Palladium with Liza Minnelli; and 1989's Judy Garland Live, which presented a previously unreleased concert recorded in 1962 at the Manhattan Center. This new UHQCD collection represents all of Garland's albums for Capitol save the oft-reissued landmark Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961) and the never-on-CD compilation of her Judy Garland Show television performances, Just for Openers (1964). (Note that a handful of tracks from Just for Openers are included on the 1989 Judy Garland Live album).
The track listings for four of the albums - The Letter, The Garland Touch, Garland at the Grove, and Judy and Liza's Live at the London Palladium - mirror the expanded editions originally issued in the U.S. on the now-dormant DRG label. All of these releases are due on June 8 and are available at CDJapan as well as through Amazon. (And for more live Liza, don't miss Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music's July 1 release of Liza's Live in New York 1979: The Ultimate Edition on 3 CDs or 2 LPs).
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Another CD release is available now from Hit Parade Records. Judy at 100 - 26 Classics in Stereo follows in the footsteps of the label's other series including Hard-to-Find 45s in premiering classic tracks in stereo. In this case, 22 of the 26 songs are making their stereo debuts. These tracks, spanning 1937-1963, are culled from Garland's recordings as well as her film and television appearances. Among the selections are two versions of "Over the Rainbow" (the original Wizard of Oz version and subsequent 1955 studio recording included on Miss Show Business), "(Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You," "The Trolley Song," "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Get Happy," "The Man That Got Away," "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," "For Me and My Gal" with fellow MGM star Gene Kelly, and Garland's blazing duet with Barbra Streisand of "Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again."
Judy at 100 - 26 Classics in Stereo is co-produced by Garland historian Scott Brogan of The Judy Room, whose track-by-track liner notes feature in its 12-page booklet alongside numerous photos. Sound for the release has been produced by the team of Mark Mathews and Walt Weiskopf. Brogan explains of their work, "Every original recording has gone through a three-step process. Step one is a lengthy process in which the various sonic elements are isolated. Since most instruments and vocals occupy fairly narrow, specific audio frequency ranges, it's now possible to isolate vocals, drums, bass, and strings and extract these elements into separate tracks. Step two requires an experienced sound engineer to place those separated elements in a new stereo mix. Finally, step three is to equalize the stereo mix to give it a rich, pleasing sound you may have never heard in the old mono sources." Visit The Judy Room to read those liner notes and hear audio samples. Judy at 100 - 26 Classics in Stereo (made possible via current Canadian public domain laws) is available now from Eric Records as well as on Amazon (arriving June 10) and via Collectors' Choice Music.
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Last but not least: attention New York-area Garland fans! This Sunday, June 5, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater will host the tenth annual Night of a Thousand Judys. The evening benefits the Ali Forney Center, the largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth in the United States, and marks both the Ali Forney Center's tenth anniversary and Judy Garland's 100th birthday.
Sunday's show will feature performances by Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables, Starlight Express), Grammy winner Nathan Lee Graham (Zoolander, Priscilla), Grammy winner and Tony nominee Kathryn Gallagher (Jagged Little Pill, Spring Awakening), Tony nominee Sally Mayes (She Loves Me), Lucille Lortel winner Bonnie Milligan (Kimberly Akimbo, Head Over Heels), Bistro Award winner Nicolas King (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center), Shereen Pimentel (Broadway's West Side Story), jazz vocalist Hilary Kole (Carnegie Hall, Blue Note), singer/songwriter Eleri Ward (Josh Groban Harmony Tour, A Perfect Little Death), and Bistro winner Amy Jo Jackson (Joe's Pub), with more artists still to be announced. The show is written and hosted by downtown mainstay, novelist, and television writer Justin Sayre (2 Broke Girls, The Cool Kids). It's directed by Peter James Cook and choreographed by Justin Wise, with musical direction by Tracy Stark.
Night of a Thousand Judys promises to be an exciting event for an incredibly worthy cause. Visit here to purchase tickets for the Joe's Pub concert. If you can't physically attend and would like to support the Ali Forney Center, you can donate on behalf of Judys here. We have a special deal for Second Disc readers! To save 30% off tickets, including the VIP seats with some fantastic perks, just enter the code JUDYS30 when you check out.
Universal Japan Reissues (All titles also available at CDJapan)
Miss Show Business (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Judy (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Alone (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Judy in Love (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Letter (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
That's Entertainment (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Garland Touch (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Garland at the Grove (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Live at the London Palladium (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Judy Garland Live (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Judy Garland, Judy at 100: 26 Classics in Stereo (Hit Parade, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Over the Rainbow
- (Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You
- Singin' in the Rain
- For Me and My Gal (with Gene Kelly)
- The Trolley Song
- On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe
- I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
- Look for the Silver Lining
- You'll Never Walk Alone
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- I'm Nobody's Baby
- Get Happy
- I Don't Care
- By Myself
- Rock-a-Bye Your Baby
- April Showers
- Me and My Shadow
- Last Night When We Were Young
- The Man That Got Away
- Do It Again
- Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart
- Puttin' on the Ritz
- Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again (with Barbra Streisand)
- Battle Hymn of the Republic
- Ol' Man River
- Over the Rainbow (1955 Studio Version)
All tracks in stereo.
Release Round-Up: Week of August 9
It's Love I'm After: Acrobat Music Collects Judy Garland's Best and Rarest on "A Celebration"
Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
You Made Me Love You: Judy Garland's Nightclub Debut Restored for Premiere Release
A note to say that UHQCD is an acronym for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc, according to CDJapan, and not Ultra High Quality Compact Disc, as has been published in some quarters. It should also be noted that despite that these will be manufactured using special materials, these discs are still 44.1kHz/16-bit CDs, which means that they are not high resolution audio. Those expecting high resolution might be disappointed. In any case, I will be reviewing these 10 releases for the Fall 2022 ARSC Journal.
I will be interested in your review, Lawrence.
Somehow, I will not be surprised if the editions of eight of Judy's Capitol albums as issued on the AVID label end up sounding better than the editions on these new UHQCD versions. To me, that is the key question.
It is not clear to me whether these new UHQCDs will be in mini-LP carrdboard sleeves. Does anyone here know?
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your interest in my upcoming review. I am afraid it will be available exclusively in the ARSC Journal, which one needs to be subscribed to.
Otherwise, CDJapan has informed me that the 10 UHQCDs are now on their way. Youpee!
All best.
LAWRENCE
Maybe you can give a tip on that question before your complete reviews are published in the Fall
Sure.
I mean the sound quality question, but packaging is also of interest
I can confirm that the ten reissues are all in standard jewel cases.
I recently asked my aunt (now 90) if she saw Judy.
She said she was in the front row at Carnegie Hall!
Is there a scientist out there who can transfer her memories into my head?
If I were you, Kevin, I would have a long talk with your aunt and try to get as many memories from her as possible, then tell them here...
I saw Judy at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Md. It was the tour after "Judy At Home At The Palace." She entered from the rear wearing the infamous green pantsuit and put on a show as only she could do. Judy was in great voice. I think the highlight was that after final encores to thunderous screaming and applause, she said good night, lights dimmed, the orchestra left, but NOT her loyal throng. There was so much yelling "More, Encore, JUDY!!" that no one would left even with repeated messages over intercom that show was over. However, lights came back on, Judy came out and agreed to one more song, repeating one of the concert songs. Planned? Who knows, Who cares! For her fans, Judy gave them a night to remember once again. I have never felt that after her passing, Judy received the same acclaim, as say Elvis or Sinatra, etc. I hope that with the centennial landmark that is remedied. Still wishing for a full release of "Judy At Home At The Palace." Thank you to all her admirers and fans, young and more for keeping Judy present and in our lives. And for the wonderful pristine re-releases of her recordings by those that appreciate talent like Judy Garland is timeless.
I believe Judy is well remembered. But, it seems as if America is simply not interested in celebrating its heroes and stars on their centennials. The centennials of both Sinatra and Billie Holiday were largely ignored, by both the public and the commercial sector. We can make a long list of those heroes and stars who barely got any level of serious recognition. We can always point to some examples of 100th birthday products, and maybe a concert, but rarely any serious high level commemoration.
Well, Peggy Lee, for her 100th in 2020, had the privilege of Capitol's releasing ULTIMATE PEGGY LEE, which even included an unissued track, “Try a Little Tenderness.” Sad to see they have not bestowed on Garland the same honors.
Is there any news on sound quality comparisons with the fairly recent European releases?
It almost seems odd that I cannot find a single comment on the web on whether these issues are a sound quality upgrade over previous official or unofficial releases. If they are an upgrade, surely that might boost sales.