Judy Garland | Baltimore | 1968

[@Tecobelli]

It is a history of her brilliance and the tragedy of addiction. Both should be shared. Thank you for posting.

[@joearo310]

I attended that concert. Ticket sales were poor and Tony Bennett advised his record label he would not play to an empty house. A local record promoter Zim Zimmeral asked me to help boost attendance by distributing a dozen comp tickets. Woody Allen was terrible. Tony Bennett was gracious. Judy Garland was drunk. She spent the day before in a Charles Street club drinking through the evening. At the concert, Judy nearly walked off the stage after asking that the footlights be turned off. Ticket purchasers wanted to see Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The performance was tragic and many stormed the box office demanding refunds. Judy Garland was taken to her dressing room and passed out. A Civic Center usher guarded her door for several hours. The next day that usher told me how scared he was. Finally, someone from her entourage took Judy to her hotel. I had an office in the Civic Center. And know this account is true. It gives me no pleasure posting this.

[@josephebneth2604]

i enjoyed this concert sad yes but its JUDY!!!!!!!

[@russellcandy9850]

I am a life long Judy fan! I must say this is sad. I saw Judy in 1968 in July in Philadelphia and she was absolutely fantastic!! A great, wonderful concert!!!

[@bruno.prieto]

I think so! If just seeing it on KZbin is already great, imagine live!! I already saw Philadelphia concert a few times (on KZbin), and she was wonderful, even approximately 1 month after Baltimore

[@roifberthyijixuifuubgbv4cr655]

I live in Philadelphia I removed Jfk stadium. Growing

[@juanfranco-amigo412]

Bruno Prieto, thanks for "this Judy Garland" show. Of course, the all world loves Judy...no doubt. Thank you again.

[@paulsimpson1697]

After all this she can still break your heart ❤️ 😢

[@jeh500]

She did not want to go on. She was sick backstage. One week later, she brought the house down at Lincoln Center (Philharmonic Hall SRO).

[@akrenwinkle]

Despite difficulties and threatening to leave, Judy wouldn't get off and finished her set. Woody Allen opened the show, followed by Tony Bennett, with Judy to close. Before showtime, when her entourage wasn't looking, Judy broke into her drug bag. When Bennett, who was a friend, became aware Judy was stoned, he fled. Daughter Lorna would later write that she didn't blame him. Her publicist put out that Judy had food poisoning, but the Baltimore press and audience members weren't buying.

[@bruno.prieto]

Oh my! Thanks for the comment; i read in an article that the show was shortened, and they basically moved the ending forward

[@blonjon]

tony did not flee. he led her out onstage and introduced her - you can plainly hear him.

[@akrenwinkle]

@@blonjon Tony did introduce her as "the greatest sound of our century." He didn't know she was bombed out of her mind and would fall apart. When she did, Tony fled. At 00:28 Judy says "unless he's left." Then a man's voice is heard, probably her conductor Gene Palumbo says, "He's gone." kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioKlmpRqd9BjoMk

[@RandyWilsonESQ]

what is your source for her ‘breaking into her drug bag’? She is definitely intoxicated but does anyone really know how it happened? could have been she she took pills forgetting she had already taken them - not as dramatic i know…

[@akrenwinkle]

@@RandyWilsonESQ "Broke into her drug bag" is verbatim from the Clarke biography. She did it when everyone around her took their eyes off the ball for a moment. She had done this years earlier right before her Ford Star Jubilee Special also. Sid was at his office; he stayed away from Judy as much as possible. He employed a nurse to watch Judy and Judy pretended to be asleep. Sid had warned the nurse, but she foolishly left the bedroom. By the time the nurse returned, Judy had OD-ed. Jackie Susann put this incident in "Valley of the Dolls," likely getting this very inside info from her TV producer husband Irving Mansfield.

[@mike48877]

As a lifelong lover and defender of Judy, I must say, this is the worst thing I've ever heard. Who let her go on? Did no one try to stop her? Where was Lorna? No one tried to help this woman! I wonder how many people got a paycheck from this travesty. "Sing, Judy, sing. We don't care that your guts are spilling out on the floor!" Vultures!

[@lelecerri7912]

She iscgreatest always whatsver she does and however she does. She simply is the Greatness.in Person for all the reasons of greatness. Bless.

[@gregglienna1442]

Wow. I’ve never heard her so out of it.

[@mattmammone2338]

Yeah, I thought the tape was slowed for a second.

[@Mandeley100]

She shouldn't have gone on, but she did and then worked her socks off to try and give a performance, to entertain the audience she had loved all her life. Just listen to her. She's giving everything she has.

[@LizaFan]

1:12 I Feel A Song Coming On 3:09 Never Will I Marry 6:28 Just In Time 10:21 How Insensitive 15:20 Give My Regards To Broadway 17:36 What Now My Love 21:38 What Now My Love (restart) 23:15 Zing Went The Strings 31:44 By Myself 38:15 For Once In My Life 44:40 Swanee 47:19 Over The Rainbow 52:43 Chicago

[@jefflrfe]

I adore Judy in whatever shape she's in. But this just makes me sad.

[@stephenacs]

So tragic. She sounded better even right before she died in 1969. I’ve never heard her this impaired. Surely many in the audience asked for refunds. This is really the saddest recording ever.

[@richardcrystal5513]

I remember the story from neighbors who went to see her. They said she was so drunk they walked out and demanded their money back. They weren't the only ones. It was so sad.

[@michelinelalonde2217]

💔

[@bill1174]

I was there that night. I wasn't a fan of Judy but I won tickets to the show and I liked woody Allen and Tony Benet.. By the time I left, I felt so bad for Judy that I became a fan.She needed help and everyone just used her. Too sad!!

[@bruno.prieto]

It's great to have someone here who was there that night; it is really very sad that with so many people, no one helped her. If you feel comfortable, could you share anything else?

[@bill1174]

@@bruno.prieto Tony didn't leave! He came back on twice until Judy came back, on his arm. Her loyal fans stayed and supported her, as they always did. She tried her best to give her fans a good show but it was just hopeless. As I said before, she won me over that night.

[@bruno.prieto]

​@@bill1174 I get it, I'm a fan of Judy simply because I like it, and because I can relate to her ups and downs. I listen to these audios without prejudice, with understanding and identification. Anyway, thank you very much for sharing your experience!🤝💖

[@bill1174]

@@bruno.prieto 👍

[@akrenwinkle]

@@bill1174 Lorna was there, and said Tony left. It's in her book, and I believe her.

[@paulsimpson1697]

Where were her so called friends or backstage hands who on earth let her go on in this awful state . As usual go judy sing for your super !!

[@bruno.prieto]

Definitely, they dropped her

[@wendellnelson-dg2ji]

This is so painful to listen to.

[@jimpowell2357]

Should never have been allowed to go on stage.

[@WGARVA]

This is heartbreaking 😢

[@warrenpeart2604]

What a shame. She’s still brilliant!

[@carlosgustavorubio1332]

Gracias Judy!!! Bendita seas!!!!

[@jasonpatten9159]

stoned and dissipated as she is her voice is for better or worse impossible not to recognize

[@elspethcoogan1499]

It’s very sad listening to Judy pouring every ounce of her being into this performance, clearly suffering. She should not have done this concert, why on Earth her manager allowed it I can’t imagine. Well, I’m sure a pay check comes into it. An unimaginable scenario today.

[@juanfranco-amigo412]

Dear, who really knows the circumstances why Judy made this 'Show'. Any way, I would have been in this performance (did you?); but I was a child and I was in another country. Beside, I understand your comment. Sincerely, Franco.

[@jefflrfe]

Unimaginable today? How about Amy Winehouse, Courtney Love, Whitney Huston, etc...

[@elspethcoogan1499]

@@jefflrfe Forgive me I’m not familiar with the backstory of those singers you mentioned. But you're right: I shouldn’t have been so hasty in my opinion.

[@magluv320]

Baltimore always gets the shaft, my lord she’s loaded! 🤪

[@summermen]

The pain in By Myself is excruciating.

[@snarkyenigma9219]

I was always so skeptical of the scene in Renee Zellwegger's _Judy_ , where the audience was throwing things at JG on stage at the Talk of the Town in London, but after hearing this, I believe it. What @-hole handler would put her on stage in this condition?

[@geoffarcher6085]

Yes, it was reported in the press in 1969 but it was a few audience members and they were annoyed that she was very late not at her performance.

[@fabrizio483]

Oh, it happened. It was on the newspapers and it was actually worse than the movie showed. On that same night, a man got up on the stage, shook Judy by her shoulders, grabbed the mic and said that if she couldn't make it on time, she shouldn't bother to go at all. Then the walked off stage crying.

[@snarkyenigma9219]

@@fabrizio483 Times were different ... poor Judy, she was a mess and in no condition to be on any stage in the first place.

[@slowatfirst]

This is sad.

[@djs2356]

they used her to death

[@wordgoog]

"How insensitive". . 10:21

[@jl3322]

She sounds better f****d up than most of the singers today.

[@blonjon]

WHAT IS THE POINT????

[@LizaFan]

Completionism. Some of us love every moment of her, regardless 🤷‍♀

[@johnaleman5915]

This posting is important to get an idea of how her fans of the time recognized how great a presence Judy was even when the legend was not at her best. Fans go to live performances of legends to pay tribute. Plenty of good moments in this recording. Orchestra is excellent, patient, and professional.

[@neilmoore7194]

She obviously needed the money. So sad.

[@jl3322]

Classless to post this. Any real Judy fan has read about the low points in her life. We do NOT need to humiliate her in death!

[@ChristineNunes-e3z]

I’m playing Judy in a show and it is so helpful. This was her and I’m grateful it for as posted.