''Judy at Carnegie Hall'' is a double-LP (re-released decades later as an extended, two-disc CD) live recording of a concert by

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, with backing orchestra led by

Mort Lindsey Mort Lindsey (born Morton Lippman; March 21, 1923, Newark, New Jersey – May 4, 2012, Malibu, California), was an orchestrator, composer, pianist, conductor and musical director for Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Pat Boone, Jack Narz, and Merv G ...

. This concert appearance, on the night of Sunday April 23, 1961, has been called "the greatest night in show business history". Garland's live performances were a big success at the time and her record company wanted to capture that energy onto a recording. The double album became a smash, both critically and commercially. The album won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, making Garland the first woman to win the award, and spent thirteen weeks at #1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' album chart. Garland's career had moved from movies in the 1940s to vaudeville and elaborate stage shows in the 1950s. She also suffered from drug and alcohol abuse, and, by 1959, had become overweight and ill and needed extensive medical treatment. After a long convalescence, weight loss, and vocal rest, she returned in 1960 to the concert stage with a simple program of "just Judy," omitting the vaudeville and comic acts that usually preceded her. Garland's 1960–1961 tour of Europe and North America was a success, and her stage presence was highly regarded. At the time Garland was billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer." Audiences were documented as leaving their seats and crowding around the stage to be closer to Garland, and often called her back for encore after encore, even asking her to repeat a song after her book of arrangements was completed.

Accolades

The double album was an enormous best seller, charting for 73 weeks on the ''Billboard'' charts, including 13 weeks at No. 1, and being certified Gold. It won four

s, for

, Best Female Vocal Performance, Best Engineered Album, and Best Album Cover. The album has never been out of print. In 2001, after the television miniseries '' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' showed Judy Davis recreating Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall appearance, the album was rereleased in a slightly different form, and it appeared again on the charts, rising to number 20 for internet sales, and number 26 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums. In 2003, the album was one of 50 recordings chosen by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

to be added to the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservat ...

. In June 2006,

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

did his own homage to Garland's night by recreating the concert in its entirety at Carnegie Hall, with '' Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall'',"Rufus Wainwright Plays Judy Garland"
by Guy Trebay, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 4, 2006 released as an album in December 2007.

Track listing

2001 compact disc release

In 2001, Capitol released ''Judy at Carnegie Hall'' as a double Compact Disc set (catalog number 72435-72876-2-3). This edition has the songs in their original running order, and includes material that was not on the original LP set: Garland's monologues and comments to the audience and orchestra; the orchestra preparing for the next number; and a false start on "Come Rain or Come Shine." The CD release purports to reproduce the concert as the Carnegie Hall audience heard it, "warts and all."

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

The Judy Garland Online Discography "Judy At Carnegie Hall" pages.Library of Congress essay
on recordings addition to the

.
"A Lot to Learn from 'Judy at Carnegie Hall'"
David Was,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, June 10, 2006. {{Authority control 1961 live albums Judy Garland live albums Albums recorded at Carnegie Hall Capitol Records live albums Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Grammy Award for Album of the Year Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical United States National Recording Registry recordings United States National Recording Registry albums