Judy at Carnegie Hall

Concert

On the evening of the Carnegie show, after a bombastic overture that built high emotion, Judy appeared looking remarkably healthy and well-groomed to a loud ovation from the star-studded audience. The standing ovation when she took the stage set the tone for the evening that followed. "They were on their feet even before the goddess grabbed the microphone," wrote reviewer Lewis Funke for the New York Times. Alan King told Garland biographer John Fricke, that composer Harold Arlen, in the seat next to King, confided that he was worried about Garland's physical condition, not having seen her since before her 1959 hospital stay. "Then she walked out," King said. "She was magnificent: svelte, beautifully dressed, perfectly made up. She sang "When You're Smiling" and when she got to the second chorus ... Arlen turned to me and said, 'I think we're in good shape tonight'". Judith Christ wrote for the New York Herald, "And then she sang. And she sang, let it be reported, as she hasn't in years."

The New York Times stated: "Indeed, what actually was to have been a concert – and was – also turned into something not too remote from a revival meeting." The recorded applause on the album is lengthy and loud and illustrates the energetic connection between Garland and her fans. Ann Miller once characterized Judy as having a "force field" around her onstage. Garland's audience at Carnegie Hall included theatre performers on their usual Sunday night off, and the celebrities appeared to be as enthusiastic as the rest of the audience. Even Judy's peers were "reaching out to touch Judy Garland" as Rex Reed would state years later. Among those who attended the show were Carol Channing, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, Spencer Tracy, Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Leonard Bernstein, Anthony Perkins, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Phyllis Newman, Kay Medford, Jerry Herman and Terrence McNally. Photographs on the album cover show the audience, in evening dress, lining the stage reaching out to touch Garland's hand, as was indicative of a Garland performance. Lauren Bacall claimed to have seen composer Leonard Bernstein excitedly jumping up and down in his chair. In the biographical film, Beyond The Rainbow, Adolph Green stated emphatically, "That night, there seemed to be no end to her energy". Near the end of the concert, after Judy sang "Rock-a-bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody", the audience applauded raucously for almost 2 minutes, shouting requests for yet another song. Garland memorably called out, "I know, I'll sing 'em all and we'll stay all night!" to which the audience roared in thunderous approval.

Reviews of the show gave high marks, and commented on Garland's exuberance, energy, vocal prowess, and the emotional effects that she had on her audience. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper (who was in attendance), reviewed Garland's ability to embrace her audience by saying of the show, "..I never saw the like of it in my life." Life magazine wrote of the concert that Garland was "part bluebird, part phoenix, she is a legend in her own time". "She wove enchantment," wrote The Times. Alan Livingston, the head of Capitol Records, called the performance "...more than a commercial success; It was really an artistic success"..

The record release of Judy at Carnegie Hall, only two months after the concert, cemented her comeback from illness, and brought her a new widespread popular acclaim. To this day, Judy At Carnegie Hall is considered one of the greatest live performances ever caught on record.

Accolades

The double album was an enormous best seller—charting for 73 weeks on the Billboard charts, including 13 weeks at number one, and being certified gold. It won four Grammy Awards-for Album of the Year (the first live music album and the first album by a female performer to win the award), Best Female Vocal Performance, Best Engineered Album, and Best Album Cover. The album has never been out of print.

In 2003, the album was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.