It's simple. Every Friday, I pick five songs that I've been loving for the past week. They don't have to be new songs or even singles from the album...the only requirement is that they're amazing.
1. "Get Happy"
Amazing song and a fierce outfit.
2. "Swanee"
I tried to find "Lose That Long Face," my favorite number from Judy's version of A Star is Born (that isn't "The Man That Got Away"), but it's not on YouTube. Alas, I have to settle (if you can really settle with any Judy song) with her version of "Swanee" from the "Born in a Trunk" medley. Hers is possibly the finest recording of the song ever made. And bonus points for not going in blackface!
3. "Be a Clown"
Judy only worked with Gene Kelly a couple of times (three, I think...I'm to lazy to go verify) but each time it was magnetic. Their greatest duet together was this Cole Porter number from her then-husband Vincente Minnelli's 1948 The Pirate.
4. "I Could Go On Singing"
The finale to Judy's final film appearance. I Could Go On Singing is a decent film, but it has two major pluses in its corner that make it even better: 1. Judy Garland's immaculate performance which somehow matches her work in A Star is Born and even surpasses it at some points. 2. My pretend boyfriend Dirk Bogarde.
5. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
As Randy Jackson often points out on American Idol, if you have a great voice, it doesn't matter what you sing and it will be great (I'm just paraphrasing here...I'm sure he added a couple of "yo's" and "dog's"). Listening to this just now, it felt like I just heard this song for the first time. How often does that happen?
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