Judy Garland The Two-a-Day is Back in Town: Closing Night at the Palace

Act 1 of Judy Garland's life (1922-1969) could be said to be her years in vaudeville in the 1920s and early 1930s when she toured with her two sisters as "The Gumm Sisters." Act 2 was her years at Mayfair Pictures, Vitaphone, 20th Century-Fox, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where she made shorts and feature films between 1935 and 1950. Act 3 was when she left MGM and began a career on the concert and nightclub stage. This last act began in 1951 with her historic runs first at the London Palladium and then at the New York Palace.

The more ripened Garland now had a whole repertoire of songs - from her movies and recordings, as well as new ones, like "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody," that she could tap into for her stage shows. Now she was a seasoned entertainer who, although she had first sung in concert in Philadelphia in 1943, had yet to conquer the art of stage performance, which was in reality simply a return to her vaudeville roots as a child. So, Act 3 was a logical last act after Acts 1 and 2, and a fitting culmination and conclusion to Garland's illustrious career.

Restored from a new transfer of original transcription discs and other sources by famed audio engineer John H. Haley, Garland's last Palace performance on February 24, 1952 has never sounded as good as on this JSP Records release, and now it is also heard complete.

Garland would play the Palace again in 1956 and 1967, but it was the overwhelming success of this initial engagement that gave her wings to conquer other concert stages in the years to come. As the cover of the 1967 LP released to mark her return there states, Garland was "at home" at the Palace. On stage, on record, and on television, Garland performed her Palace medley in remembrance of all the legendary stars who played the theater before her. Today it is a privilege to hear the closing night of this unforgettable show that brought Garland to a new level of performing artistry.