April 23, 1961: Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall

April 23, 1961: Judy Garland, star of such musical films as The Wizard of Oz as a teenager and a remake of A Star Is Born as an adult, gives a concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City's premier venue for classical music. It is the culmination of a world tour that marked a comeback for her.

The star had been battling alcoholism, prescription drugs, health issues, and business difficulties. Now, shortly before her 39th birthday, she had perhaps the greatest triumph of her career. The live double album Judy at Carnegie Hall, released the following May 10, became the biggest-selling album of the year, and made her the 1st woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. (The Grammys were first issued in 1959, so it's not as if this was a long-term injustice.)

With an orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey, she sang -- perhaps not in this order, but this is how the songs were listed on the record:

* Side One: "The Trolley Song" (from her 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis), "Over the Rainbow" (from The Wizard of Oz), "The Man That Got Away," "When You're Smiling," "Almost Like Being In Live," "This Can't Be Love," "Do It Again," "You Go to My Head," and "Alone Together."

* Side Two: "Who Cares (As Long as You Care for Me)," "Puttin' On the Riz," "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (not the song of the same title that was a hit for the band Ace in 1975), "Just You, Just Me," a reprise of "The Man That Got Away," "San Francisco," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "That's Entertainment!"

* Side Three: "Come Rain Or Come Shine," "You're Nearer," "A Foggy Day," "If Love Were All," "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Stormy Weather."

* Side Four: "You Made Me Love You," "For Me and My Gal," a reprise of "The Trolley Song," "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody," a reprise of "Over the Rainbow," "Swanee," "After You've Gone" and "Chicago" ("That Toddlin' Town," not, "My Kind of Town, Chicago Is").

Although some of these songs had been, and others later would be, recorded by performers with a rock and roll arrangement, all of them were played in the "Big Band" style that that Judy was used to.

She moved all around what became known as "The Great American Songbook":

* Harold Arlen wrote the melodies for "Over the Rainbow," "The Man That Got Away," "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "Stormy Weather."

* George Gershwin wrote the melody for "This Can't Be Love" and the words to "Swanee"; his brother  Ira Gerswhin wrote the words to "The Man That Got Away"; and, together, they wrote "Who Cares," "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and "A Foggy Day."

* Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe wrote "Almost Like Being In Love."

* Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote "This Can't Be Love" and "You're Nearer."

* Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz wrote "Alone Together" and "That's Entertainment!"

* Irving Berlin wrote "Puttin' On the Ritz."

* Johnny Mercer wrote "Come Rain Or Come Shine."

* And, while he was British, but wrote for some American musicals, Noël Coward wrote "If Love Were All."

In 2001, following Judy Davis' performance, including re-creating the concert, in the TV-movie Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, the album was re-released and, thanks in part to Internet sales, it hit the Top 20 again, 40 years after its initial release -- and 32 years after Judy's death.

*

April 23, 1961 was a Sunday. Comedian George Lopez was born.

Football was out of season. The NBA season had ended 12 days earlier, when the Boston Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks in Game 5 to win the Finals. The NHL season had ended 7 days earlier, when the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup. But these games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. Brooks Robinson went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Mickey Mantle hit his 5th home run of the season, but the Yankees got only 4 other hits, all singles, by Roger Maris, Bill "Moose" Skowron, Tony Kubek and Hector Lopez.

Shortly thereafter, new manager Ralph Houk changed the lineup around, so that Maris batted 3rd, Mantle 4th, Yogi Berra 5th. The Yankees ended up winning 109 games and the World Series, led by Mantle hitting 54 home runs, and Maris -- who, by this point was still looking for his 1st of the season -- hitting a new record of 61.

* The Philadelphia Phillies swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phils won the opener, 1-0, as Frank Sullivan pitched a 7-hit shutout; and the nightcap, 6-0, as Art Mahaffey pitched a 4-hit shutout, striking out 17 batters and walking only 1. Ernie Banks went 1-for-8 on the day.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4, both singles, 1 with an RBI. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4. Warren Spahn outpitched Vernon Law, whose Cy Young Award-winning season was a major reason for the Pirates having won the previous year's World Series.

* The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader from the Los Angeles Angels at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Tigers took the opener, 3-1; and the nightcap, 3-2, when Dick Brown singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Al Kaline went 3-for-4 in the 1st game, but 0-for-4 in the 2nd.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Boston Red Sox won the 1st game, 4-3. The Chicago White Sox won the 2nd game, 7-1. Carl Yastrzemski, the rookie intended to replace the newly-retired Ted Williams in left field, didn't play in the 1st game, and went 0-for-3 in the 2nd.

* The Minnesota Twins, known until the previous season as the Washington Senators, beat the new, expansion version of the Senators, 1-0 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Jack Kralick pitched a 4-hit shutout. Harmon Killebrew did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Athletics, 10-8 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Don Demeter and Wally Moon hit home runs, while Frank Robinson went 0-for-4.

* And a doubleheader was split at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants won the 1st game, 2-1. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 2nd game, 7-4. Stan Musial went 1-for-5, only pinch-hitting (unsuccessfully) in the 2nd game, while Willie Mays went 3-for-7 with an RBI.