Judy
Garland's career encompassed every type of entertainment
medium of the 20th Century. Beginning in vaudeville,
she went on to radio, films, records, television, and
the concert stage. She was so effective in every venue
that during her lifetime she was referred to as a " living
legend". No other performer of the 20th Century
could wear the title "Miss Show Business" and/or "The
World's Greatest Entertainer" better than Judy
Garland.
Judy was awarded an Academy Award, a Tony, a Grammy, a Golden
Globe, and countless other awards for her work. In the years
after her death, she was still making news. Her presence
in the That's Entertainment series of films helped
to make them box office hits. Both the soundtrack to A
Star Is Born (Warner Bros. 1954) and her 1961 concert
album "Judy
At Carnegie Hall" have never been out of print. Among
other post-life achievements, in 1997 she was posthumously
awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by
the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2001 her
recording of "Over The Rainbow" was voted as the
number one "Song of the Century" in a poll conducted
by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording
Industry Association of America. And as recently as 2004
Judy's version of "Over The Rainbow" as performed
in The
Wizard Of Oz (MGM 1939) was voted the Number One
Movie Song by the American Film Institute (out of a pool
of 300 great performances). In June 1999, the American Film
Institute ranked Judy as the #8 greatest female film star
of all time. She was the only female musical performer to
make the top ten. Fred Astaire was the other musical performer,
coming in 5th on the men's list.
Aside from all of the awards and accolades, what Judy Garland
has left behind is an incredible legacy of performances.
Whether it be on records, in films, on radio "air checks",
or on TV, Judy Garland was almost always being recorded,
from the age of 7 through a few weeks before her death at
47 in 1969. The result of this is the unbelievably vast wealth
of riches in her many, many performances which - thanks to
20th (and 21st) century technology - have been preserved
for future generations to continue to enjoy.
The pages here (excepting the The
Judy Garland Online Discography are not
meant to be complete lists of Judy Garland
DVDs, Books or other products. Instead,
these pages feature what I consider to be the "best" of
Judy Garland related products. Also added into
the mix are rare items, a few oddities, and
anything else that may be of interest to both
the serious collector and the "casual
fan". Enjoy! |