Different from other works devoted to Judy Garland to date in that it is not a traditional birth-to-death biography, award-winning music producer, critic, and translator Lawrence Schulman's long-awaited 2-volume look at the legendary singer,
Garland - That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland
, aims to remove her from the simplistic realm of such epithets as "world's greatest entertainer" and "Miss Show Business" and reconsider her as one of the greatest singers of the 20
th
century's Great American Songbook, one who took us beyond entertainment to a level of artistry unique in classic American popular music. The importance of Judy Garland is amply highlighted in this detailed, richly-illustrated study that covers Schulman's writings on Garland between 1993 and 2023 that concentrate on her recordings, and not all the hoopla, hagiography, and tragedy usually attached to her short 47-year life. Utilizing published articles, reviews, liner notes, interviews, program notes, talks, and prefaces, the Schulman opus, which includes a Foreword by John H. Haley and an Afterword by James Fisher, took thirty years to write, and revolutionizes the trite take on Garland as having had just "a talent to amuse." A read which meticulously includes all the facts but does not exclude amusing anecdotes and unsettling stories that shed light on this complicated artist,
resembles Garland in that it is indeed entertaining, but also spotlights an artist whose frightening talent takes us over the rainbow to a reality in song that is devoid of complaisance or artifice.
"Few figures in twentieth-century American popular culture continue to fascinate audiences with such verve as Judy Garland. Compiling a robust archive of writing that showcases the author's breathtaking encyclopaedic knowledge on all things Judy, Lawrence Schulman's
proves to be a must-read tome for anyone keen to understand (or be reminded of) the thrall this electric and eternal performer elicits still. A gargantuan effort as attentive to minute recording details as to broad cultural readings of the artist (not to mention fascinating and juicy anecdotal tidbits sprinkled throughout), Schulman's body of work here all but anoints him as the preeminent expert of a figure who has no shortage of them."
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MANUEL BETANCOURT
, film critic, culture writer and author of
33 1/3: Judy at Carnegie Hall
,
and others
"Schulman's highly readable and deeply researched and analyzed collection of his varied essays and reviews provides a feast for even the most informed of Garland admirers and, at the same time, an indispensable guide for those who have just caught Garland fever."
JAMES FISHER
, Professor Emeritus at the School of Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and author of
The Theater of Tony Kushner, Al Jolson: A Bio-Bibliography
, and others
"Lawrence Schulman's book is a deep dive into the lore, the legacy, and the legend of one of the world's greatest and most iconic entertainers. It's absolutely essential for Judy Garland fans - and who isn't a Judy Garland fan?"
WILL FRIEDWALD
, journalist and author of
Sinatra! The Song Is You - A Singer's Art
A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers