I was watching American Idol a couple nights ago, and despite some great, moving performances, I started thinking about - of all things - Judy Garland. I wondered if time frames had been different, how the young star would have fared on Fox's talent show.

Randy would probably have told her, "I'm not feeling it, dog." Paula would have loved her "colors." And I suspect Simon (who, in Season 5, requested Katherine McPhee sing one of his favorites, Somewhere Over the Rainbow) would have called her, "Absolutely brilliant."

There is actually one Garland performance in particular that parallels the nationwide singing competition that is American Idol.

On November 16, 1935, a then unknown 13-year-old Judy Garland was preparing for a radio performance on The Shell Chateau Hour. Moments before going on, she was told that her father - hospitalized with spinal meningitis - had taken a turn for the worse (he died the following morning). Despite this terrible news, Judy went on the air, and sang a song for her father. It would be her first professional rendition of Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, a song she would record many times, and which would become a standard in her concert repertoire, decades later. According to legend, this was also the song Judy performed for L.B. Mayer at her MGM audition.

I found that very performance on You Tube, and decided to blog about it. This song is one of my favorites, and never fails to move me. But I do wonder how this would have gone over on American Idol. Despite the fact that this is over 70 years old, I can't help but think this would have blown the judges away. It's that timeless. Especially when one considers her age and circumstances.

I am posting two versions below. The first is the Shell Chateau performance, which has no video, but gives me chills every time I hear it ... especially when it kicks into high gear after the 3:00 minute mark. The second is from the 1939 film, Listen, Darling, which Judy made right before The Wizard of Oz. This performance does have video, but is slower and (to my mind) not quite as good as the radio version.

Don't forget to vote. Phone lines open after the show. Wordslinger out.


JUDY GARLAND - ZING! WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART
(November 16, 1935 - professional debut on The Shell Chateau Hour)




JUDY GARLAND - ZING! WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART
(Listen, Darling - 1939)