About the "Judy" recordings.

Judy's original vocals for the "Judy" album were recorded in late March 1956, some of which were later overdubbed onto previously recorded band tracks. These recordings were used for Judy's second TV special which aired on April 8, 1956, in which she lip synched on a few songs and sang live to the band tracks on the others.

At some point before the album was released, Judy went back to the Capitol studios and re-recorded her vocals. This was done because while the original March 1956 recordings were deemed sufficient enough for the TV special, they were not good enough for the album.

Captiol decided to keep the same matrix numbers and the same March recording dates of the original acetates when they had Judy re-record her vocals, probably because her vocals were matched to the band tracks of those original sessions. The original acetates of the March sessions were thought lost until they were discovered and released in digital download and CD format by HDTT on July 4, 2024.

From the HDTT liner notes written by the audio engineer for the set, John H. Haley of Harmony Restorations, LLC:

Only one track that was recorded in March is known for certain to have made it intact into the final released album, the fanciful "Maybe I'll Come Back," which also appeared in the TV show. For the sake of completeness, we have included a restoration of the acetate of that song.

Apart from a new opening for "Memories of You," all of the orchestral accompaniments heard on the acetates are also heard in the final album except for "Come Rain or Come Shine." The late Scott Schechter, in his essential book documenting Garland's career, "The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend" (Cooper Square Press, NYC, 2002), stated his opinion (p.204) that the final released "Come Rain or Come Shine," which like everyone else until now, he incorrectly assumed was recorded at the March sessions, "is perhaps her very best studio recording." We can now hear the very well-done initial version.

The two tracks missing from the acetates that appear in the album are "Just Imagine" and "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home." It is unknown why no acetate recordings have been found for these two songs, assuming that they ever existed. When we listen to the sound of Garland's voice in "Just Imagine" in the released album, it seems somewhat likely that this song was another "survivor" from the March sessions that made it into the final album, but there is no way to prove it.

In [the March recordings], even recovering from a respiratory infection, Garland, being the trouper that she was, certainly delivered the goods. In some instances, listeners may find that her first
interpretations are more dramatic (e.g., “Come Rain or Come Shine”), have a greater sense of
irony (e.g., “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries”), or are more touching (e.g., “I’m Old Fashioned”) than the later, more perfectly vocalized tracks. This release truly presents an alternative Garland album, which although not without flaws, can be enjoyed alongside the released album as a different experience of the same songs. Garland was ever the canny performer who could turn whatever circumstances she was presented with to her advantage, and there is no doubt that she did so in what is heard here.

The "Judy" album featuring the re-recorded tracks was released on October 10, 1956. Record Number T-734.