This week, I showed off a copy of the new Judy Garland compact disc, Judy Takes Broadway!, a collection of Broadway songs she recorded for her 1963-64 CBS variety show.
Deputy Features Editor Terry Jackson asked: "Why do gay men love Judy Garland?"
Good question. I called an expert, Garland historian John Fricke, who assembled the Broadway CD and wrote its liner notes:
Why do gay men love Garland? "Good taste,'' Fricke said. "This music harks back to when everyone had good taste."
He acknowledged that although many gay men do love Garland, her fame continues to transcend a single demographic.
Fricke said Jackson has "bought into the stereotypes."
"If that were the only audience, her career would have lasted six months," Fricke said.
Garland's appeal "remains cross-generational,'' Fricke said.
Besides, he added, "the mass gay audience is so busy being foolishly trendy as the straight audience."
"Follow the trend. Very few entertainers have transcended all of that," he said.
Thirty nine years after her death, Garland has. "I don't say that now as a fan," Fricke said. "I say that as someone who's working the mine for the last 20 years.'
Fricke has spent decades writing about Garland and maintaining her legacy as the "World's Greatest Entertainer." (The title of one of Fricke's books.) "Hopefully to present it well and in a classy way,'' he said.
Fricke has also helped prepare many of Garland's most famous films for DVD, including The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis and the movies she made with Mickey Rooney (including Babes in Arms and Girl Crazy.)
Judy Takes Broadway is the fifth CD of songs from The Judy Garland Show on Savoy Jazz since 2004. Among the tracks: Sail Away, Get Me to the Church on Time, The Party's Over, a Kismet medley (with Vic Damone) and Hey, Look Me Over!
"These CDs have been a pleasure," Fricke said, praising Savoy Jazz. "They've been very gracious to me. They've given me full control. 'What songs do you want? What order do you want? What pictures should we use?' They've done it with the right art work. We're not looking at pictures of her from MGM. It's all being done with as much class as the output deserves." (The disc can also be downloaded at Amazon.com or iTunes.)
So what's left of the Garland archive that hasn't been digitally (and commercially) released?
"A lot of rare radio stuff that would need a lot of cleaning up, so much so it would be [cost] prohibitive," Fricke said.
Most of her films are already on DVD, along with the complete Judy Garland Show. There's still enough material from the TV series to produce a few more CDs, he said.
In 2009, Garland's most famous film will be released on home video in high definition.
"Next year will be the 40th anniversary of her passing and the 70th anniversary of Oz. Wizard of Oz will be released on Blu-ray,'' Fricke said.
Check out my tribute songs to Judy - Just Like Judy and The Ballad Of Judy Garland, both now available on iTunes.
Posted by: DSJ | March 15, 2009 at 08:07 PM