- Birmingham Municipal Auditorium -

Judy Garland Wows 'Em 
With Her Famous Songs
By Emmett Weaver, Birmingham Post-Herald

Nearly 4,000 fans rose up from their seats at the Municipal Auditorium last night and yelled, "More!... more... more!... We want Judy! 

And Judy Garland, an engaging Peter Pan figure in black toreador trousers and sequined cape, pranced out on stage with that elfin gait. People began shouting for encores: 'Embraceable you,' 'Melancholy Baby', the great songs which a great entertainer like Judy can sing.

"We'll just have to stay here and sing them all night." quipped Judy. The enthusiastic Birmingham crowd would have taken her up on it.

One fan even ran up to the brink of the stage to touch her. Camera-clickers were everywhere, and backstage at her dressing room she was swamped by admirers.

For an encore she literally folded back last night's gloomy, rain soaked skies with her famous 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,' indelibly Judy's song.

Her grand finale, and the one that shook the rafters, was the Al Jolson, vaudeville, spread-the-arms, song of Dixie, 'Swanee.' This number drew a special ovation.

Sponsored by the Birmingham Music Club, she sang the timeless ballads of Gershwin, Harold Arlen, and Rodgers-Hart and each song was distinctly Judy's own, whether it was the tearful, vocal breaks to the soulful 'Stormy Weather,' or airily lifting her heals and dancing and clapping her hands to the merry 'Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart.'

The two-hour show was unadulterated fun for both Judy and the audience; she was a continual cut-up on the stage, helping the musicians move the piano and furniture, playing with the wire of the microphone like a Gigi with her skip-rope, suddenly taking a whim and going off stage to get a drink of water, returning, with half impish grimace as she fumbled around to find an inconspicuous place to put a mint she had in her mouth, finally settling for the piano. It was incomparable showmanship in the old 'give 'em all you got' show business tradition.

Judy could belt out the brassy tunes like 'San Francisco,' using a mike, though she could have done without it, for she had the volume. Then, quite casually, she'd change her mood to an atmospheric torch song like 'The Man That Got Away,' 'A Foggy Day,' with only the dimly-lit blue halo of a spotlight enveloping her face.

Mort Lindsey and his 28-piece orchestra (which had many local musicians) offered excellent arrangements and backing. For a jazz medley, eight musicians joined Judy in some 'jumpers.'

After the curtain closed, Birmingham was still clamoring for more. They could have stayed and listened all night.

If you weren't in the audience for the Judy Garland concert , then you'll never believe what went on at Municipal Auditorium last night. 

Judy sang, she conquered, she brought the crowd of 4,000 to it's feet in a standing ovation shouting 'Bravo!' and yelling for 'More!' In more than a quarter-century of covering the amusement beat, I've seen nothing like it - or Judy.

She is a phenomenon of the entertainment world and, in my book, the world's greatest showman.

Last night, from the moment she came onstage, unannounced, to the Overture of the Mort Lindsey Orchestra, and sang 'When You're Smiling,' until the final encore, Judy owned the crowd, lock, stock and barrel. She has a tremendous power of communication, and there was a bond of affection between her and every person in the audience, from white haired ladies to teen-agers.

Judy Garland is the soul of informality. She kidded and clowned, cut capers, danced, made even mike trouble fun, and she sang her heart out.

An incredible gal, she has fire, warmth, boundless energy and a radiant glow. Maturity has brought greater depth, too, and her face is beautifully expressive. It can be one of childlike whimsy, gay or tragic, with the mood of a song.

Last night, Judy did a lot of heart-wrenching with 'sad songs' like 'How Long Has This Been Going On,' 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love,' and her immortal 'Over the Rainbow' from her Oscar-winning picture, 'The Wizard of Oz.'

She rocked the house singing 'Come Rain or Come Shine,' 'When You're Smiling,' 'You Made Me Love You,' 'Zing Went The Strings of My Heart,' Hugh Martin's 'Trolley Song' and 'San Francisco.'

She sang them all, more than 30 and then brought the crowd to it's feet cheering with 'Rockabye My Baby to a Dixie Melody.' They wouldn't let her go, and she came back again and again for encores.

She said, "we can just stay here all night and sing 'em" to the crowds call for favorite numbers. She came back to throw kisses and answer the calls with "I love you, I love you all"

The curtains closed and the 4,000 stood there shouting "No! No! No!"

It was quite an evening.