Of particular note is Garland's status as a gay icon.[101] She always had a large base of fans in the gay community. Reasons often given for her standing, especially amongst gay men, are admiration of her ability as a performer, the way her personal struggles supposedly mirrored those of gay men in America during the height of her fame and her value as a camp figure.[102] A connection is frequently drawn between the timing of Garland's death and funeral in June 1969, and the Stonewall riots, the flash point of the modern Gay Liberation movement, which started that same day in the early morning hours of June 28. Coincidental or not, the proximity of Garland's death to Stonewall has become a part of LGBT history and lore.[103]
Judy Garland, born on June 10th, 1922, was found dead in London on On June 22, 1969 of a secanol sleeping pill overdose, ruled accidental. On the day of her funeral, the Stonewall Riots began in New York City, the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.
The Man That Got Away
"The Man that Got Away" is a popular song, published in 1953 and was written for the 1954 version of the movie A Star Is Born. The music was written by Harold Arlen, and the lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Arlen had originally collaborated with Johnny Mercer, who wrote lyrics that began "I've seen Sequoia, it's really very pretty, the art of Goya, and Rockefeller City, but since I saw you, I can't believe my eyes."[1]
[edit] Original Garland rendition
The best-known recording of this song was made by Judy Garland with the Warner Bros. orchestra under the direction of Ray Heindorf using an arrangement by Skip Martin. Judy's performance of the song in A Star is Born is unusual for being filmed in one continuous shot. Garland (as Esther Blodgett) performs the song during an after hours rehearsal session in a smoky nightclub.
"The Man That Got Away" is arguably the most important single musical sequence in "A Star Is Born." It was photographed in three different costumes on three different occasions, in over forty different partial or complete takes. Judy Garland prerecorded the song on September 3, 1953. The number was first filmed on October 21, 1953. But the cameraman could not give director George Cukor what he wanted: "low light levels, the impressionistic feeling of the musical instruments, Garland moving in and out of pools of light," so he was fired.
Changes were made to the costume and set and the number was re-filmed on October 29th. Art director Gene Allen said, "The first time it looked as if we had painted a set to look like a bar. So to give it a slightly impressionistic look I...put a scrim between the musicians and the back bar. If you look very carefully at that scene you can see the scrim nailed down on the floor..."
According to soundman Earl Bellamy: "When Judy sang to playback, you couldn't hear anything...She wanted me to start at full blast and then she topped it...you could hear Judy clear as a bell, and she sang right with it..."
Garland did 27 takes of the number over three days, both partial and complete. But according to Allen, "Cukor had her doing bits of business before the song, and all of that action didn't really fit the song - it was just too busy. And she didn't look good - her costume was wrinkled, it didn't fit right." And the color was wrong: too brown.
It was filmed for a third time in February 1954, with new hairstyle and costume and a new set. Cukor felt this time they finally got it right: "I think we have generated a lot of sex...She looks perfectly charming in a new Jean-Louis dress, and I know that this too is an enormous improvement over the way we first did it - it has fun and spirit."
The number was filmed in both widescreen Technicolor and in CinemaScope. Jack L. Warner and Producer Sid Luft agreed to scrap nearly two weeks of footage to date and began the film again in CinemaScope. The original takes are added as a special feature on the currently available DVD.
The song has been sung, with lyric changes, as "The Gal that Got Away" by male singers such as Frank Sinatra. There is also a cover by Jeff Buckley, the recording of which can be found on the Mystery White Boy album. Audra McDonald also sang a version, which is on her album How Glory Goes. Barbra Streisand sang a version on her 1993 concert tour, publicly dedicating her rendition to Garland's memory. The song was also covered by Ella Fitzgerald. Tony Bennett covered the song from the best male friend perspective. Most recently, Rufus Wainwright performed it (2007) in his tribute revues of Garland's best known songs, recorded on the live album Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. The song was also covered by Maria Friedman on her self-titled album, which was reissued in the U.S. under the title Now & Then.
Source:
The Man That Got Away lyrics
The stars have lost their glitter;
The winds grow colder
And suddenly you're older -
And all because of the man that got away.
No more his eager call,
The writing's on the wall;
The dreams you dreamed have all
Gone astray.
The man that won you
Has gone off and undone you.
That great beginning
Has seen the final inning.
Don't know what happened. It's all a crazy game!
No more that all-time thrill,
For you've been through the mill -
And never a new love will
Be the same.
Good riddance, good-bye!
Ev'ry trick of his you're on to.
But, fools will be fools -
And where's he gone to?
The road gets rougher,
It's lonelier and tougher.
With hope you burn up -
Tomorrow he may turn up.
There's just no letup the live-long night and day!
Ever since this world began
There is nothing sadder than
A one-man woman looking for
The man that got away....
The man that got away.
Click These Links and Sing Along:
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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
__._,_.___
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