tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705107.post4214522249587943221..comments2010-11-08T22:43:44.828-08:00Comments on BLUE VOICE: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705107.post-75845321176864968532009-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:002009-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:00Superbowl 2 was held at Miami's Orange Bowl on Jan...Superbowl 2 was held at Miami's Orange Bowl on January 14, 1968.<BR/>The Oakland Raiders were expected to be destroyed by the Green Bay<BR/>Packers, then the toughest team in the Black And Blue, the NFL's<BR/>roughest division.<BR/>Scheduled to sing the National Anthem was the pretty and popular Joey<BR/>Heatherton, and the halftime show was to be provided by television's<BR/>The Monkees.<BR/>However, two days before the event, The Monkees had to bow out due to<BR/>a contractual dispute between their parent company, Screen Gems, NBC,<BR/>and CBS, the network broadcasting the game.<BR/>Producers started doing a quick scramble to find suitable replacement<BR/>entertainment, and on the advice of George Schlatter, contacted Judy<BR/>Garland with an offer.<BR/>As it turns out, not only was Judy a big footaball fan, but she was<BR/>available, and excited to do the show.<BR/>So with less than forty eight hours notice, she packed up her kids and<BR/>orchestra leader Gene Palumbo, and flew from New York to Miami,<BR/>arriving on January 13th just in time for a sound check and short<BR/>rehearsal.<BR/>Kick off for the game was at 3 P.M. on the 14th and commentaor's Frank Gifford<BR/>and<BR/>Pat Summerall seemed just as excited by the prospect of<BR/>the halftime show as they were by the game itself.<BR/>The day was clear, sunny, and a warm 86 degrees. Judy had originally<BR/>planned to wear the sequined pants suit that had been designed for her<BR/>to wear in the film Valley Of The Dolls, but because of the heat she<BR/>opted to wear a pink and silver chiffon mini dress borrowed from her<BR/>fifteen year old daughter Lorna.<BR/>By the end of the first half of the game the Packers were dominating<BR/>the Raiders, as had been expected. But the real excitement was yet to<BR/>come.<BR/>As soon as announcer Gary Owens announced Judy's name there was<BR/>a roar in the Orange Bowl that could be heard a mile away.<BR/>Gene Palumbo hit the downbeat to Judy's chart of For Once In My Life<BR/>and Judy trotted out and practically skipped to the center of the arena.<BR/>Palumbo and the orchestra had to vamp for a full three minutes before<BR/>the audience quieted down enough to let Judy sing.<BR/>Judy's rendition of For Once In My Life was new to the audience and<BR/>they were estatic to hear her sing a current popular song, and with<BR/>such warmth and control to her voice. The ovation at the end of the<BR/>song was as strong as it had been when she first entered the arena.<BR/>Her second number was her movie medley, another popular choice, which<BR/>became obvious as over 75,000 people sang along with her when<BR/>prompted to during For Me And My Gal. Next came Just In Time with all<BR/>of it's difficult key and tempo changes, Judy sang it to perfection,<BR/>and with a freshness that made it seem as if this were the first time<BR/>she had sung the song.<BR/>She then introduced her daughter Lorna, who joined her for a joyful<BR/>and swinging Jamboree Jones. After that, as Lorna was leaving the<BR/>stage, Gene Palumbo and the orchestra started up Judy's reprise of For<BR/>Once In My Life, which she sang with as much power and heart as she<BR/>had at the begining of her set. Then it was over. Or was it?<BR/>After Judy finished the reprise of For Once In My Life the orchestra<BR/>started playing her bow music of Over The Rainbow which was drowned<BR/>out by the cheers, whistles and screaming of the audience, who were<BR/>all on their feet. Judy bowed and blew kisses as she ran off the<BR/>playing field and the camera's cut back to Frank Gifford, who was<BR/>trying to announce the start of the second half of the game, but to no avail.<BR/>The crowd could not be stopped, the cheeering and stamping eventually<BR/>gave way to the chant "We want Judy, we want Judy."<BR/>After a full five minutes of this the producers had no choice but to<BR/>prevail upon Judy to sing an encore. She agreed and reentered the<BR/>playing field to absolute pandemonium!<BR/>After the crowd died down Judy started singing Over The Rainbow solo,<BR/>without the orchestra. Gene Palumbo and the musicians had to scramble<BR/>to find all their parts, and one by one they joined Judy, all to great<BR/>dramatic affect. Judy sang the song with all the longing and heartache<BR/>that she had when she first sang it in The Wizard Of Oz, and as<BR/>she sang the last line "why oh why can't I" a hush fell over the<BR/>stadium. After a few seconds the still was broken when the voice of a<BR/>young woman called out "Bravo, Mama." then all bets were off and it was<BR/>New Years Eve again. Another five minutes later order was restored and<BR/>the game continued without further incident.<BR/>The Packers beat the Raiders 33 to 14 that day, Bart Starr was named MVP, but<BR/>he gallantly presented his trophy to Judy saying that he "may be the game's MVP<BR/>but Judy is the world's most valuable player" (unfortunately for her he<BR/>didn't also give her the 25,000 cash prize that went with the the<BR/>award).<BR/>Another player in the game who received considerable attention was<BR/>Greenbay Linesman Jerry Kramer, who would be befriended by Judy. In<BR/>fact, they would later appear together in a fun and flirtatious romp<BR/>on the Tonight Show.<BR/><BR/>To learn more about Judy Garland please read The World's Greatest<BR/>Entertainer by John Fricke, or Rainbows End By Coyne Steven Sanders.<BR/>To learn more about this period of the NFL's history, and it's<BR/>roughest division, pick up a copy of The Black And Blue by Bob<BR/>Berghaus.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com