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Today in Jazz - Judy Garland
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Judy Garland as Dorothy in 1939's Wizard of Oz
June 10 was a good day for music. On this day was born the great composer of musicals Frederick Loewe, the Brazilian bossa-nova musician Joao Gilberto and the great Judy Garland. Perhaps when thinking of famous jazz musicians, Judy Garland does not initially come to mind. However, despite her eternal relationship with 'The Wizard of Oz', she made a later career as a cabaret and pop singer, including some surprisingly solid jazz work.
Judy Garland got her start in vaudeville, under the management of her mother Ethel, while perfroming with her two sisters. She had been perfroming in this way for more than ten years before she was signed to her first Hollywood contract in 1935. This experience enabled her to learn many different styles and also to accsutom herself to the rigors of perfromance- traits that would stand her in good stead later in her life. However, this experience did not enable Judy to conquer her own lack of confidence- a flaw that wiould play a role in her early death.
Although best known for her work in Hollywood films, Garland did a lot of singing work after her seminal role in the Wizard of Oz. She performed all over the world and put out a record based on her Carnegie Hall performances of 1961. Included on this album were many of her famous hits, but she also sang a number of jazz standards, including 'Stormy Weather', 'A Foggy Day', and many others. The album has been continuously in print since 1961.
Garland's main contributions aside from her film work were her revival of vaudeville due to her performances in the Palladium theater in 1951 and her many introductions of songs that are still classic today. These include the famous Over the Rainbow, 'Atchison, Tokeka and Santa Fe', 'Meet Me in Saint Louis', and many others.
As a singer, Garland's main attribute was her versatility. She was able to perform songs written in a wide variety of styles, rather than being identified with a particular style. Garland also had a way of connecting with her audience that few other singers of her generation shared. Although perhaps not the most talented vocalist of her time, she remains enduringly popular in a way that few other vocalists of the era are. She also was able to cross over ages- young people are as likely to like her famous songs as are those who were her contemporaries. And her popularity continues as can be attested by the consistently high ratings that accompany re-releases of her most famous film The Wizard of Oz. Happy birthday, Judy Garland!
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