Recuperating from a bout of pneumonia, has given time for reflection and listening to things I might not have otherwise done. Brenda was playing some old standards on her iPod and a song came on that took me back 50 years. In 1961, my parents and some friends got together at a remote cabin in the Sierra foothills. Although I was 17 at the time, I was sent upstairs to a bedroom so they could party on. My parents were good at that.
As the rest of the kids (I was the oldest) fell asleep quickly, I had only my small transistor radio for entertainment. As I searched the stations, not being much of a rock and roll fan (more so now than then), I found a station out of Stockton that was playing the entire album of Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall. I was blown away and couldn't sleep until the album had finished. Some have called that night the greatest night in show business history. The enthusiasm of that night's audience was palpable and Garland was at her late life height. In over 50 years, the album has never been out of print through records, tapes, CDs and iTunes.
Judy Garland, for all of her problems with alcohol and drugs, had the ability to bring sincerity, emotion and energy to a song like no one else. Some of the songs are on You Tube. My favorite song from the album is "Stormy Weather." Garland convinces you that she is just at the end of her rope and that she may not make it through the song. Less so, but not much less is "The Man Who Got Away," a Garland signature song. Of course, "Over the Rainbow" is in the mix and her version of "San Francisco" is fun, especially if one if familiar with the old chestnut of a movie by the same name.
There are some great singers today, but Garland was like no one else. Her life was tragic, but she left us a great legacy of fantastic music. Take a listen to "Stormy Weather" and let me know what you think!
