Rufus Wainwright (and Judy Garland) at Carnegie Hall

[Guest alanm]

In June, Rufus will perform all the songs from the "Judy at Carnegie Hall" 1961 CDs (all 26 songs in order). Neither a female singer nor a drag performer could likely pull this off, can Rufus whose voice is close in sound to Bob Dylan? How will he handle the Jolson songs like "Swanee" and "Rockabye Your Baby with A Dixie Melody." Tickets are on sale;he's actually doing the concert twice -- on June 14 and 15. Rufus has guts since "Judy at Carnegie Hall" has never been out of print & the lastest upgrade include every second of the April 1961 concert.

 

This is difficult to believe, but the Rufus Wainwright Garland concerts are listed on the Carnegie Hall website.

 

Is Rufus crazy?

[bigguyinpasadena]

I have seen Rufus Wainright live.It was in a horrid Hall(the wiltern-which used to be fine till TG(?)took over.The accoustics were so over amped all you could get from our incredibly cramped seats was echo and din-I had to sit out the latter half of the show watching the moniters set up in the bar.

I also have a few of his CDs.

Is he the right performer to do justice to Judy,unfortunatly no.His style and voice are all wrong for this.

Nonetheless,since he is pretty,young,and queer I am sure the show will sell out.

I would have loved to have seen Sylvester attempt this.

[+ deej]

If anyone can do it, Rufus can. But I wonder why?

 

According to Liza, her mother said "don't ever be a second-rate version of someone else. Be a first-rate version of yourself".

 

Liza won't sing her mother's songs because "they've been sung".

 

In this day of covers and remakes, doesn't anyone have some real talent of their own?

 

(Yeah, I know this sounds bitchy, but it's how I feel.)

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Rufus has the chops. He'll do fine.

 

However, i will mention that there IS another female singer who could easily sing that particular Garland songbook: Linda Eder. She recently came out with a whole album of Garland covers ('By Myself') and it's amazing. Her vocal nuance for each song is incredible.

 

http://www.LindaEder.com

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

~BN

[VaHawk]

I know who Rufus Wainwright is, but I don't believe I've ever heard him sing. From others comments, can I assume that he inherited his voice from his dad, Loudon (who wasn't bad, imo, and btw: anyone remember his MASH appearances?) and not his mother Kate McGarrigle, who has a beautiful voice?

 

If I had to place a bet, however, on just who could do Judy justice, I'd have to wager on that old standard Bette Midler. I know that she covered Rosemary Clooney more than admirably.

[Guest Dan]

Lorna Luft does a one woman show called "Songs My Mother Taught Me" which uses the Carnegie Hall concert as a touchstone. She played here in L.A. about 2 years ago. Her voice sounds almost identical to her mother's, and in many ways is stronger and clearer than Garland's was towards the end of the life. (Thanks to a healthier lifestyle than her mother's.) Of course there is an irony to the comparisons since at that point, Luft had already outlived her mother.

 

One song that she did not cover and refuses to: Over the Rainbow. As far as Luft is concerned, it's her mother's and nobody elses!

 

You might also notice that since Liza's father was Vicente Minelli, it's like they decided Liza is the keeper of his flame (no pun intended) and Lorna got their mother's. She's the on who always seems to be involved in Judy projects whether it was the TV movie "Me and My Shadows" or participating in documentaries on Garland and/or "The Wizard of Oz."

 

Dan Dare

http://www.geocities.com/dandare_laca/DanDare4Hire.html

[VaHawk]

Thanks for the info, as I was unaware that Lorna Luft had such a great voice, as I'm fairly sure, that I've never heard her sing.

 

To quote from deej's post: "According to Liza, her mother said "don't ever be a second-rate version of someone else. Be a first-rate version of yourself".

 

Given that milieu, I'd have to say that Liza is more the spirit of her mother than Lorna, as Liza is her own woman, always has been, even head to head with her mother on-stage at the age of 17! And damn, Liza is superb in her own right, and as beloved by the gay community as Judy!

 

Unfortunately for Lorna, Judy's death came before she was old enough to repeat Liza's "I'm my own woman with my own voice", with an appearance with her mom onstage. And by the time she was Liza's "coming out age", Judy was dead and Liza was a star, so, unfairly, Lorna, was always in the shadow of both her mom and her big sister! So very sad, as she is the one relegated to channeling her mom thru her mom's songs, in a 2nd rate act, thru no fault of her own, just as the old 50's song goes "Born too late".

[+ Lucky]

RE: Not Gay After All

 

Well, boo hoo for Lorna!! I guess I could lose my gay card for this, but I couldn't care less who is the better singer! I couldn't care less if Rufus fucks up Judy Garland's songs! So there! BTW, I don't know a single show tune by heart either!

[VaHawk]

RE: Not Gay After All

 

>Well, boo hoo for Lorna!! I guess I could lose my gay card

>for this,

 

Sheesh, you're so "heartless", but, wtf, I don't ever remember either Lorna, Liza or even Judy, recording "Cry Me A River"! But please don't worry, as most likely, you would only lose the "fairy frequent flier miles" and probably your complimentary "Tinkerbelle" tea bag from your gay card

 

>BTW, I don't know a single show tune by heart either!

 

But they know you!

[Guest Dan]

RE: Not Gay After All

 

>Well, boo hoo for Lorna!! I guess I could lose my gay card

>for this, but I couldn't care less who is the better singer! I

>couldn't care less if Rufus fucks up Judy Garland's songs! So

>there! BTW, I don't know a single show tune by heart either!

>t

 

Then why the hell did you post that? No one's forcing you to read every post, Lucks and you certianly don't have to comment on every posting. [NOW USING STEWIE VOICE]I mean who the hell do you think you are? Rick Munroe? [bACK TO MY OWN VOICE] (fuck, did I just give him free publicity again!!!)

 

Dan Dare

http://www.geocities.com/dandare_laca/DanDare4Hire.html

[bigguyinpasadena]

In his show Rufus had both his Sister-and at the end his Father come onto Stage.Sinse a couple of songs are "fuck you-you bastard"towards his dad this was surprising.

His Mother does have a lovely voice,a true Canadian treasure.

[+ deej]

> the TV movie "Me and My Shadows"

 

FWIW that's actually the title of Lorna's book, billed as "a family memoir".

 

The key difference between the two is Liza has talent. ;-) Lorna is a fairly good singer, but she's made a career out of being Judy Garland's daughter.

 

I only know the following because I recently watched Liza on "Inside the Actor's Studio":

 

Minnelli is one of seven people to have won acting's Triple Crown: Tony, Oscar, and Emmy, as well as a Grammy "Legends" award and four Golden Globes. Her Tony win (for "Flora, the Red Menace") made her the youngest Tony winner in history.

 

She also knew how to surround herself with great talent. Her mentors, far more than her mother, were Fred Ebb and John Kander (Chicago, Cabaret, Flora, etc.).

 

"Liza with a Z" was the first broadcast concert ever, and won Emmy for her and Bob Fosse as well. That year, Fosse won Emmy for "Liza with a Z", Oscar for "Cabaret", and Tony for (I forget). He's the only person ever to win all three in the same year.

 

So, while talent is part of it she also attracted other talent into the mix. Lorna Luft is still just Judy Garland's daughter. :-(

[+ deej]

> it's like they decided Liza is the keeper of his flame

> (no pun intended) and Lorna got their mother's

 

It's actually highly UNLIKELY they agreed on anything. They're not exactly best of friends and for many years didn't speak. It surprised pretty much everyone when Lorna showed up at Liza's side when she had health problems.

[Guest alanm]

I should have mentioned in my original message that I saw Garland herself recreate the "Judy at Carnegie Hall" concert at Boston Garden in October 1961. Garland made the audience believe that she was giving

her vocal and emotional all in every song with no concerns for the next concert. She probably learned to do that in vaudeville as a child.