IMO humble opinion Judy Garland and Elvis Presley were the 2 best concert entertainers of the 20th Century and its a pity they never worked together, as they also admired each other. However, both their lives seem to link up in many ways.
When Judy was in the middleof her tv series, Jack Kennedy was assasinated. She didn't want to do the show out of respect, but was forced to by the shows producers, who said she wouldn't get paid otherwise. However, she decided as a tribute to her friend to sing The Battle Hymn Of The Republic, In 1968 on the eve of his 1968 comeback show, Bobby Kennedy was killed, which inspired Elvis to sing If I Can Dream.
Both performers were addicted to prescription drugs, which led to their early deaths. However, I watched a recent doc about Judy, whom I already knew a fair bit about and found out despite her fragile state in her latter yrs, she did a massive amount of concerts,which wouldn't have helped her health or her standard of performance. She didn't have money then, I gather she was fleeced. Elvis allegedly worked way to hard, while in poor health, allegedly to pay of his Manager Col. Parker's gambling debts.
It's a pity Judy was no longer able to do movies in those final years, though I think she could have instead of making phyisically demanding musicals, Judy might have excelled in romantic comedies in her 40s. I agree with Tim Rice, that Elvis would have been better off, without Parker, still making movies, like westerns which I thought he suited, while doing just a few concerts in a year
Garland and Presley links
Re: Garland and Presley links
I watched a PBS program about Judy last night. Fascinating and sad. I didn't know of the Cassavetes film she made. A CHILD IS WAITING. I wouldn't mind seeing it.