Judy Garland had a very prolific career on the radio. As a matter of fact, she had been a veteran of radio long before she signed her first contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made her first Decca recordings.

In spite of the fact that Judy was extremely popular as a radio personality, this is the one aspect of her career that is the most under-documented and under-rated. Before MGM put Judy in their films, they used radio to introduce her to audiences and gauge her appeal. Several years later, Judy herself would use radio to stretch her dramatic skills by playing the types of straight dramatic roles she was never allowed to at the studio.

Judy's radio career gives us a treasure trove of great Garland performances. Here we have Judy interacting with the big celebrities of the day, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, even Charlie McCarthy, all in a relaxed atmosphere. These shows also gave Judy the chance to test herself vocally and grow by trying out various vocal stylings that she never was allowed to do try in her films. Most importantly, Judy was able to interact with her first love, the audience. In this case, the studio audience. Nonetheless, this interaction with the studio audiences would prove crucial when Judy embarked on her legendary concert years.

Here at The Judy Garland Online Discography, we attempt to properly document Judy's radio performances through the many LP's and (sadly) few CDs available. Some of the liner notes to the LP's and CDs may be incorrect, and we have made every attempt to note the corrections we know about.


Image above right: 1937 promotional photo for CBS Radio.

Many people see Judy Garland simply as a famous movie star of the 30's and 40's. What they might not realize is that Judy Garland was perhaps even more famous, especially during her lifetime, as a legendary concert performer. The legend continues to this day.

After her break with MGM in 1950, Judy embarked on a new career returning to the live performances that were a part of her life from the age of 2 1/2 up to her first studio contract at age 13. In 1951 she made her first of many legendary "comebacks" by bringing Vaudeville back to The Palace Theater. Just prior to this, she tried out her show in London at the Palladium - no recording of this first concert performance exists.

Until her death in 1969, Judy Garland would remain the ultimate concert performer. She gave thousands of concerts, bringing fans, critics and peers to frenzies of adulation, tears, and emotions they would later say they had never before or since experienced.

Unfortunately, this was prior to the age of video recording everything in sight, so all we have are some scant home movie footage, and the albums. These albums (and the television appearances noted below), are the closest we have to experiencing "Judy In Concert".

Here we try to document as many of the "Judy In Concert" LP's and CDs as possible. Including repeats of the albums already listed in the Capitol Records section, as well as the various bootlegs.


Image above right: Judy performs at the Sahara Casino/Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada in the fall of 1962.

Judy Garland made her first television appearance on the "Ford Star Jubilee" special "Miss Show Business" on September 24, 1955. Although terrified of the new medium, Judy was flawless, and the special was a huge success and the highest rated special to date.

For the rest of her career, Judy would appear is several more specials, make guest appearances on talks shows and variety shows, and more importantly host her own variety show in the fall/spring of 1963/64, the legendary "The Judy Garland Show". All in all she would perform in well over 100 television appearances from 1955 through 1969.

"The Judy Garland Show", as well as many of her other television appearances, are the only visual record we have of Judy Garland "in concert", performing many great songs that she never recorded or sang anywhere else. Plus, they give us the opportunity to see Judy performing with the great talents of the day.

Luckily, we now have all of the shows from her series restored and available on DVD. Click here for more information about these wonderful DVD's.

Hopefully all of the surviving footage of her appearances on television will eventually be restored and released on DVD. Let's keep our fingers crossed!


Image above right: Judy and David Wayne in a promotional photo for her first television special, the "Ford Star Jubilee" on September 24, 1955.

Here is where we've put albums that don't fit in any category, along with albums that are hybrids encompassing several aspects of Judy's recording career such as compilations featuring some radio and TV performances, or some studio and live tracks, etc.

Some of the albums listed here are also listed in the other sections of The Judy Garland Online Discography.


Photo at right: 1939 MGM portrait.