Judy Garland - 'Over The Rainbow' Live (Ultra-Rare) 

I don't think she ever truly knew just how special she was.

Hollywood treated her such inhumanely you can see it here. this is more than singing. this is a life of agony.

Judy Garland was enslaved and manipulated by Hollywood and, even worse, her own mother. She was forced to work 72 hours at a time, being force fed amphetamines and pills to stay awake and barbiturates to fall asleep. Before her death, she was quoted as saying “I tried my damnedest to believe in that rainbow that I tried to get over and I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.” If that isn't horrifying and sad, then I don't know what is. RIP Judy Garland, 1922-1969

Liza Minnelli once told the story of a performance where Judy had laryngitis, and by the end of the show --"Over the Rainbow "was always her final number, of course -- her voice was entirely spent. So she sat down on a chair and TOLD the song to the audience, summoning all of her acting ability to transform herself into a master storyteller and make those lyrics come alive in a new, intimate way ("she told it TO them, not AT them," Liza said). Then, to cap it off, Judy then cued the orchestra and asked the audience to sing the song back to her. She sat there smiling, as the auditorium filled with music, and the voices of her adoring fans washed over her. Liza said it might just have been the most memorable version of that song she ever heard.

This was so heartbreaking to watch. The look on her face while she was singing broke me down. When she hit that high note, it really made me cry. I didn't know until now that she tried to kill herself the night before this performance. Knowing that makes this even harder to watch. Just seeing the pain in her eyes really kills me and I'm a 37 year old man. I really feel for her in my heart. For all the pain and heartache you suffered Mrs. Garland, I hope you are forever in your place over the rainbow. God bless you.

"Birds fly over the rainbow... why? then, oh.. why can't I". Heartbreaking :'(

Still a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but she barely even believes in the rainbow at this point. So sad that someone so talented and full of potential could get used and abused like Judy did in old Hollywood. A true shame

THIS is the ultimate version of this song.

It is plainly visible that she was truly struggling (emotionally) to get through this song. So sad and beautiful.

The depth of emotion in this performance is astounding. She bares her soul here, and we are treated to an extremely intimate moment. This song is hers. It was written for her voice. Never has there been a more perfect marriage of singer and song.

you can tell she was crying. like wholeheartedly crying and singing because her whole life she was mistreated. called names shoved drugs down her throat molested and touched by men twice her age. had a diet of chicken soup black coffee and 80 cigarettes a day AT 16 YEARS OLD and she had people spy on her to make sure she was on that diet or else her mother or the director would call her names or hit her. this song was her cry for help in hopes she would find it. yes the wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies but the darkness behind the scenes makes it very difficult to love..

This just makes my heart ache. No one else has, or ever will have, such an emotional rendition of this song. Rest in peace Judy.

there's almost an "I Dreamed a Dream" quality to this rendition. she was forced to accept that there just is no rainbow for her. props to the orchestra too for never getting ahead of her. this was her time to tell the story on her terms. rest easy Judy. you truly were too beautiful for this world.

They way she turned around and walked backstage was really heartbreaking

That walk off stage at the end breaks my heart. This is the most honest performance I ever saw.

That breaks my heart..You can see she is crying thru the whole song. Judy was ALWAYS looking for that place..that safe place "over the rainbow", I pray she FINALLY found it ! I hope she NOW knows how much we all love her!!

This breaks my heart. She can barely sing with so much emotion, bless her.

I remember seeing an interview with Judy Garland where she was emphatic about "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" being the one song she never messes with because she knows how important it is to people who love it and are buoyed by its hopeful message

This footage guts me. I'm so thankful I found it here- preserved for the world.

Nobody can begin to come close to this performance by this legend.

Funny, Judy Garland always sung about the rainbow with such yearning not realising that she was indeed the rainbow, that little strip of colour in an often black and white world!

Makes me cry, Judy seemed so sad here. Those lyrics were made for her. Rest her beautiful soul.

I think a lot of people mistake this song. Somewhere Over The Rainbow isn't a place. It's a feeling. To me, it's the imagination of a life without my depression, PTSD and anxiety. What that might look like if a place actually existed with me happy in it. "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can't I?"

It's like her whole life is flashing before her eyes as she tears up and finally she breaks down seeing here life and all the hardships over all the years. This may be the saddest thing I've ever seen. RIP Judy. You were one of a kind.

How can something so beautiful be so heartrendingly sad?

This song truly belonged to her. She looks so tired, emotionally spent, but she always gave her audience her very best. RIP Judy. You were the best.

Breaks me.... That lonely longing in her eyes. Rest in Peace, darling!

It's so sad to watch this because it's just like, written all over her face. How tortured she must have felt as a person and the drugs, suicide attempts, etc, it's just so sad. Her eyes explain it all and in the 50s they were oblivious to serious drug addictions like that so she was basically killing herself. Ofcourse we hear about the Diva Judy but under each Diva is a scared soul.

The most iconic song in the history of film, her voice golden, her life tortured, God rest you Judy. At long last over the rainbow !

That was not her acting, I don't think. That was her, being.

“I tried my damnedest to believe in that rainbow that I tried to get over and I couldn’t,” she once said. “I just couldn’t.” I really hope everyone who did anything bad to her got their due. Those were insane times.

This cuts deep.

Wow, this version of the song breaks my heart. So many different emotions on display; it's the most raw and open I've ever seen her perform it. A tiny window into her soul, whatever she was going through that year. It was clearly a heavy burden for her. I do hope that eventually she found that peaceful place over the rainbow.

Often in life some of the greatest songs ever recorded is when that artist is having and going through their horrible hell in life.

Anyone who wasn't moved by her tears just aren't human.

This is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.

OMG this is heart wrenching. If you watch this and don't feel moved there's something wrong with you.

I started crying at the first note!

:'( RIP Judy. There never was and there never will be another like you.

this is so heart breaking. holy cow, I just read how bad she was treated and this breaks my heart. she needed the place somewhere over the Rainbow.

This song had a completely different meaning in 1955 because she was going through real life struggles.

They say that the good die young. Sadly, Judy Garland was among the good that died young. Drugs and alcohol never made her a bad person. I will continue saying good words about her. We can never forget her. I know that she is a wonderful Angel in Heaven!!

Well, there are still many talented people in our world, but you won't see performing talent like this again, onstage, up-close, raw and pure. Judy is a legend for very good reasons.

Judy Garland was a very talented, troubled person, but from watching this you can see she was a human being who had feelings, deep feelings...

Very sad. I think she was actually talking to the audience and asking... Why can't I ever find that place over the rainbow. She was basically kept a prisoner by Mayer who kept her constantly doped up on uppers to perform long hours and barbiturates to help her sleep. This abuse went on for years. I felt so sorry for her. She was used by her mom and later by Mayer. I really believe she honestly was relating to her own life and begging for help in this performance.

Wow, how heart wrenching! I cried along with her...........

Judy performed "Over the Rainbow" four times on television. Aside from the two times referenced here, she sang it on The Andy Williams Show in 1965 and on The Mike Douglas Show in 1968. The Ford Star Jubilee appearance here was probably the first time she did a pity party version of the song, pretending to be unable to sing at the beginning, then surprising the audience later, singing the big note at the end. She would do it again at the Palladium in 1964, then again during her 1967 tour.

one of the greatest performances ever recorded. what a legend.

Our childhood is what we fall back on for hope when times get tough. Without a childhood she had nothing good to look back on. She landed Dorothy at age 16. I remember when I was 16 I was still in school climbing trees, making friends,running through parks, joining sports.. etc. she gave all of that up for us to have this song. I think that's why this song is so powerful, because she gave one of the biggest sacrifices in art. She gave her childhood spirit to Dorothy.Rest In Peace Judy Garland...

The greatest female singer of All TIME...need a cry, this is it! RIP darling Judy!

Every blink, every nod, every turn of her head...i don't think there's been a more talented performer in history

I'm legit tearing up right now, what a legend.

"Hollywood's a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss but fifty cents for your soul" Marilyn Monroe😔... This is true I was a inspired actor for a few years I gave up fame for life they don't care about you in Hollywood your a "THING" to them not even human just a product etc I love you Judy garland😢 well your over the rainbow and they will pay because karma is reality...

This performance utterly breaks my heart. She got such a raw fucking deal in this world and it's so, SO unfair. You can just feel her hurt right in your chest as she's singing, like a knot. We love you, Judy. My god, we love you so much.

Oh..👀 DAMN. That was an artist - interpreting something everyone on the planet can relate to! Beautiful. . Brava! 👏🏼🙏🏼🥲

Why is it that in the face of such a massive talent that i always feel sorry for her, shes so melancholy. Beautiful but melancholy

From the age of 9 to almost 70 I've loved this hauntingly beautiful song & Judy singing it. No one else comes close to her. So glad both singer & song found each other. So grateful Shirley Temple "couldn't be released from Contract" This song will be played at my Funeral. 🌈😊👍💜👏👏

I've shared this with new singer/performers I've coached as the top example of somebody inhabiting the lyrics and absolutely baring their soul in front of a live audience . You can see her facing the horrible truth of what they did to her as a child . She isn't acting this out like its a 4 week run in a theater and this is the " sad part". She is living it right there, right then. Any performer that can even come CLOSE to being that vulnerable onstage is going to be something special .

Haunting, Beautiful, Legendary. Only Judy could and will ever be able to sing her song like that.

You can tell by her reactions to the lyrics she really believes what she's singing. Such beautiful lyrics.

2:43 the lyrics resonate with her and she zones out for a while before she starts to panic, so she scans the crowd for a friendly face for support and thankfully finds it, but needs them quickly again before starting the final lines with a tearful voice, I wonder who it was that she looked to for support. this poor woman went through hell and this wasn't long after she attempted suicide, these 4 minutes must have been pure torture.

This video is so much. That song means the world to so many people, and is so remembered, and is so loved. Judy was treated unfairly her entire life. She was born and shoved onto the stage, and later into MGM. Her mother wanted her to be a star. And then, at MGM, they told her she was too fat and not pretty enough and they put her on medications and they mistreated her completely. They caused her to get hooked on drugs and skyrocket into depression. And she was just a little girl when it all started. You can tell she's singing in hopes of finding a better place, where ever that may be.

Judy Was 33 Years Old When She Sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow In Ford Star Jubilee

She was almost crying here.

I felt that in my skin like it was mine ... sweet Judy ♥

Judy Garland was my Dad's favorite actress. He died in 1991. I am 50 years old now and finally know why thanks to this song.

she looks like she’s about to burst into tears. i still keep on rooting for her to this day.

God, I love Judy. She was such a comfort to me when I was growing up. I had a tumultuous household and I always retreated to Judy, her records, her movies. I always dreamed of singing like her. (I can sing, just not as great as her). She had no idea how much she meant to people. How many people truly loved her. I recently read a memoir by Hayley Mills and she talked about a time when she met Judy and she put it very well when she said, "Here was a woman adored by millions - talented, beautiful, funny - and yet she saw no reason to value herself, because despite her success, everyone treated her like dirt in her personal life." How very sad. We love you, Judy. Always will. Rest well beyond that rainbow.

OMG what a performance!!! She is actually crying and not just golds it together but takes it to another level. Amazing

In response to all the mentions of her costume during this number -- in her stage show, Judy always performed the "We're a Couple of Swells" number from "Easter Parade" (1948 with Fred Astaire) just before the end of her concert. She did it dressed in a costume similar to the one she wore in the movie -- the tramp costume. After that song, she simply sat on the apron of the stage in the same costume and did "Over the Rainbow," then walked offstage in silhouette. It was incredibly moving. That's why she did it that way in this clip, and why she is dressed as she is. No one could put more sheer, raw emotion into a performance than Garland -- she lived each word of each song, and it was only about 30% technique -- most of it was simply genuine feeling. She was probably the finest untrained Method actress of hers or any other generation. There is no one working today who can touch her: She was an accomplished untrained dancer who could hold her own with Astaire and Kelly; a natural singer with a voice that could melt iron; a richly skilled comedienne, a dramatic actress of range and fire -- you name it, she could do it. But the raw emotion on which she drew, and which made her such a consummate performer also burned her out at a very early age. She is unequaled in entertainment history, and we can only be thankful that, unlike Bernhardt or Adams, we have her on film forever.

This was a haunting performance. She seemed so exhausted & sad

You know she left the stage and balled her eyes out. So sad, way more to this story than anyone is aware of. 😢

HOLY CRAP How many times have all of us sung this song this way

It's hard to watch. Her emotions were so raw. I'm an empath and the was so much pain, yet hope on her at that time. She felt she could slay her dragons. I hope she finally found the peace and love that she was seeking here on earth.

I heard Sir Patrick Stewart in a podcast recently say that an acting coach once told him, “the camera will film your thoughts” Without trying to make assumptions this version makes me really sad for her. She’s definitely in another place and I can only wonder if it’s from a place of hopelessness instead of the child like joy that most of us are familiar with. Regardless, this is a testament to her strength as a performer being able to take the same song with the same notes and flip it upside down on us. She was definitely one of a kind.

fuckin hell, this is haunting

I'm thinking of Robin Williams today. Robin, I'm going to miss you terribly.

My Mom saw her in LA. She said she did exactly what this video shows...Judy sat at the edge of the stage and sang . My Mom said she was so special, and I'd say Judy Garland is the G.O.A.T of all time singers.

This may be the most heart felt moment ever captured on film. I'm 58yo now, grew up in rock roll, ride a Harley motor bike here in Texas and yell at football games. But there's a child in all of us and Judy singing this song wiped me out. I imagine God himself dropped to a knee and teared up. Creating this human-being, is more than even you could have ever imagined. Hey satin, listen to this and just maybe you may consider a knock on the door of heaven and ask if you can come back home. God bless you Judy. I don't understand some of the negative post over this. Her voice is perfect, the hobo look was perfect. Her haunting eyes are just..........pure expression. My soul cried today.

There will never be anything close to this amazing talent. When I think of the term "star"... Judy's voice is what I hear.

This made me cry. I saw the true emotion behind those eyes and that voice. She went through a real rough life and its as if that song resonated something in her; something she only knew. Rest in peace, Frances Ethel Gumm.

It tears me up inside, as tears wash my entire face. If you've lost something or someone, you know that you can't really get them back. Escaping over that rainbow seems like the only way to deal with it.

Judy, I have no doubt that you're a happy little blue bird flying over many many rainbows...

The movies studios in 1955 were done with her. So she hit the road with her big spender husband and three children. Always sad and broke. Uggh!! She always brought gave a stellar performance.

@ 3:27 you truly feel her pain and I cried right there with her. For her, her life had so many battles but all Judy ever wanted was to be loved and be happy. What would had become of her if she was not put on so many drugs by the studio.

I cannot hold back the tears...its just impossible. The first note itself broke me down into a crying mess.

Her eyes! Absolute chills. I wish you’d known how truly beautiful and amazing and LOVED you were and still are. I adore you.

Just before this she performed "We're a Couple of Swells" which is a song and dance number. If you watch that, she was out of breath by the end of it. She is obviously exhausted when she sits down to sing. She can barely catch her breath and takes multiple rapid breaths even between words. She's also sweating which is why she wipes her upper lip and forehead during the song. All of that combined with the fact that this was a very emotional song for her is what gave us this performance.

So emotional. Judy is almost crying out here about how her life went taking such a sad and destructive route for such a fabulous talent. God bless you judy, I hope you found that special place over the rainbow.

What a heartbreaking performance

Her signature song, her life...

I watch this and I am 9 years old again! Some are calling it simply a "performance." Would that it were, and she had lived a long and happy life into her 80's, but that was not the case. That she had so much pain to draw on means that this performance was filled with a deep subtext. Even as a small child at the time, I/we all knew her life was filled with tragedy and pain. She was something special, and this "9 year old heart" belonged. . . belongs to her!

Sometimes I wish Judy left Hollywood after oz. They destroyed her.

And of course she flew over that rainbow ….that talent that we only see every few hundred years ….she was a remarkable artist in very sense of the word …a very gifted person ….and we too flew over that rainbow with her…she took us along for the ride ….I’m so thankful to have been able to see her in person ….and I will never forget that night ….God bless her soul…

Simply, The Greatest female performer of all time. Sorry, Barbara, Celine, Whitney, Beyonce, Tina and now Angelina etc. etc. etc.

Goddess!!!! Queen!!!!! Legend!!!!! Legendary!!!! Icon!!!!! Iconic!!!! Angel!!!! Diva!!!!!! Judy, Judy, Judy!!!!! (project 52)

The ultimate showgirl! What a performance! Judy Garland is the yardstick by which all others in show-business can measure themselves. There are very few others who are on a par, e.g. Streisand, Minelli; but Garland set the tone and the benchmark.

Judy’s song and nobody else’s.

Is anyone else that hysterical mess with this?

This woman and this song are inseparable, and this clip is the only proof that's necessary. It's the most moving rendition of Over the Rainbow I've ever heard.