Judy Garland sings Old Man River

#1

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 7:19pm

I'm sure this is not the first time you've seen this but can we talk about how beautiful this is? It's been on repeat all day. It's so subtle yet so brilliant.
Video

#2

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 7:33pm

Along with her "Battle Hymn of the Republic" after JFK was shot, Garland's "Ol' Man River" is just incomparably thrilling. She even gives Paul Robeson a run for his money!

#3

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 7:39pm

I love her rendition. She puts such power behind it.

#4

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 7:49pm

Love this...love Battle Hymn...I'll add my favorite
AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME

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Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.

#5

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 8:51pm

I'm so glad you posted it. Many people laugh reflexively at the idea of Judy singing this song. But when you watch it, you see how much subtle shades of meaning she is able to suffuse the lyric with.

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#6

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 9:03pm

I love how this tiny white woman takes a song written for a black man and makes it her own. That's not just great singing, it's phenomenal acting! (I mean acting the underlying meaning of the song, not that Garland tries to impersonate a black dock worker.)

#7

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 9:06pm

Here--try this one. I usually post it on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as "Judy's Holiday Wish" because it's preceded by a little monologue she does about one year ending and a new one beginning.

It's also from the TV show, Judy singing Vincent Youman's "Through the Years," which she turns into an art song, equivalent to lieder by Schubert or Schumann or Brahms.

http://youtu.be/gwVCRqAq1Ao

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#8

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 9:26pm

Are my dates right, joey? Wouldn't that have been broadcast less than a month after the assassination, when the country was still in shock?

If so, the idea of "smiling through the years" must have been especially moving.

#9

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:17pm

Her emotion on "I'm tired of living but scared of dying" is just heart breaking. It fits Judy so well. Her ability to interpret a song and make it her own is still unmatched.

#10

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:23pm

Scallion, that's my favorite, too. But "Old Man River" is extraordinary.

#11

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:54pm

"Through the Years" was taped in October 1963, for the show that ran just after New Year's 1964.

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#12

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/31/13 at 12:03am

It was her first show aired after Kennedy's assassination that Garland sang BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC on her weekly variety show. According to Mel Torme in his book "The Other Side of the Rainbow: Behind the Scenes on the Judy Garland Television Series", he states that before Garland sang she looked directly into the TV camera and said, "This one's for you Jack". But apparently CBS felt it was out of line and cut the introduction when it aired nationally. Both her renditions of BATTLE HYMN and OLD MAN RIVER are two of the most moving performances I've ever seen.

Updated On: 12/31/13 at 12:03 AM

#13

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/31/13 at 12:14am

Mel Torme's book is essential but self serving. If you want to read a wonderful account of the life and death of Judy's TV series, seek out the late Coyne Steven Sanders's RAINBOW'S END.





AMAZON: Rainbow's End

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#14

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/31/13 at 1:02am

"Through the Years" was taped in October 1963, for the show that ran just after New Year's 1964.

Got it. Thanks, Joey.

#15

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/31/13 at 10:03am

I think it was Old Man River that Judy was singing on December 8, 1963 when a large passenger plane exploded about 15 miles due south of our house near Elkton Maryland and killing a whole bunch of people. The flash was visible for many miles, and I remember seeing what was like a lightning flash from our living room. I never forgot that.

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"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher

#16

Judy Garland sings Old Man River

Posted: 12/31/13 at 11:03am

What a sad memory. But, no, on the December 15 show, Judy's guests were Tony Bennett and Dick Shawn. She sang "Yes, Indeed" as the opening and "That's All" and "Stormy Weather" as the solos and sang a medley with Tony Bennett that ended with the two of them memorably duetting on his "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

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