I love to listen to Judy Garland.

There I said it.

No, I ‘m not gay. In fact, I’m not even a metrosexual. And I freely admit that Barbra Streisand has a better voice. Which is not the same as saying that Barbra sings better.

 Early in here life Judy Garland had a powerful and tonally precise voice. Think of the young Judy singing Over the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz.

Over the years, booze and smokes took a toll on her career, and her vocal cords.

The song by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, was written for the 1951 movie Royal Wedding.  It was originally intended that Judy would star and be the singer of this tune, but the role ultimately went to Jane Powell, who costarred with Fred Astaire (Fred rather famously danced with a hat rack in this production).

What is presented here, was from many years later, is recorded from her television show. We see and here is a more mature Judy, her voice muted  and strained by life lived hard. It is her phrasing, her vocal skills and her acting ability that allow her to carry off this simple ballad with a pathos that we seldom witness from today’s talent.

I’ll say it again, I love to listen to Judy Garland.

I think I’ll go out and split some wood now.

By hand.