Judy fans will know immediately what clip I have posted below – will know the year, the circumstances … Mitchell was the one who first showed me this clip, years ago, and he actually made me watch it once with the sound down, just so he could show me how eloquent and simple she was in her gestures and singing expression … There are moments when (if you watch it with the sound down) – you could almost believe that she was just speaking. Hard to imagine any of the young singers who contort their faces to get the sound out today being so quiet and simple and at ease with their own instrument.<\/p>\n
The clip speaks for itself.<\/p>\n
It’s one of the most moving things I have ever seen, and I can only imagine what it was like to be there live. Garland was one of those rare singers who could fill up with emotion as she sang<\/i> – without the throat constricting. It’s remarkable, and I would imagine it was a mix of a gift of flexible and strong vocal cords – as well as an act of will. She will<\/i> get the song out.<\/p>\n
Here … her sense of will<\/i> … takes on an almost life-or-death intensity which makes it difficult to watch at times. She is struggling against so much – her own emotion, the free-floating emotion that had to be present in the audience at that time, and the larger national sense of grief and loss … But she keeps going.<\/p>\n
It will not change the world. She is not a statesman. She is not a Nobel Peace winner. She is not a diplomat, an ambassador, a senator, or poet laureate. She is a singer. So in such a moment … there is only one thing she can possibly contribute. A song.<\/p>\n
Thank God it was on live television so that we can still watch it now.<\/p>\n
I am in awe. I am also struck by how awkward<\/i> she is, physically, and how much that works for her. Her gestures are sharp, choppy – she randomly hugs herself – flings her arm in the air … and none of it feels planned. It’s almost scary (but I know I am only saying that because we know how overly managed most singers are today … they have TEAMS of people to make sure they never look awkward and to hide<\/i> those “flaws” that actually might make them brilliant and original). Garland is not doing anything here – except living<\/i> that song – and pouring her emotion into her voice and letting it out. The gestures were all from her heart – completely her own – and give the performance a ragged realism which still, after so many times watching it, has the potential to shock me.<\/p>\n
(Alex has some more thoughts here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
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