Judy’s Songs

This book describes the many songs that Garland sang over her career. These include those she sang on the radio, on records, in movies, on television, and in concert. Some she sang scores of times, while others she sang only once. Her career, lasting from her childhood in vaudeville to her death in 1969, occurred during a period of vast changes in the entertainment industry, advances in the methods of recording, as well as dramatic changes in the styles of songs. Garland mastered each with her unique and magnificent talent. She had not only an incredible voice, but the ability to style her delivery to match the emotions of the music and lyrics. As she herself joked, "those Garland songs" were those that she belted out with power and control; at the same time, she excelled at the quietest, saddest songs, such that she could break the listener's heart. Listening to her opus allows one to hear a vocalist whose artistry was unmatched by any other twentieth century singer.