The years 1946 - 1950 were tulmultuous ones for Judy. Following her success in Meet Me In St. Louis, she was the reigning queen of MGM. Judy followed St. Louis with a critically acclaimed dramatic turn in The Clock followed by the highly successful The Harvey Girls. She made guest appearances in Ziegfeld Follies and also Till The Clouds Roll By.

But the previous years of overwork plus her increasing dependence on presciption drugs were beginning to take their toll. After giving birth to Liza Minnelli, and enjoying a much needed year of rest, the prospect of going back into the grind of making film after film was a frightening one. Judy announced that she would not renew her contract with MGM when it expired in August, 1947. MGM, of course, had other plans. She was their top star of the time, making $3,000 per week even though she wasn't working. MGM lured her back with a contract giving her $5,619.23 per week (in 1946 dollars no less), with a guarantee of $300,000 per year; the promise to make only 2 films per year with one being a guest appearance; the promise that Dottie Ponedell would continue to be her make-up artist, and that her husband Vincente Minnelli would be her director. She would also be allowed to make records and radio appearances and keep the money from those (as long as MGM was mentioned). It was too tempting to refuse. The contract was drawn up on November 20, 1946 and Judy returned to work on December 2, 1946 to begin work on The Pirate. This would prove to be, in hindsight, a big mistake.

The studio insisted that she lose weight (Judy had a hereditary weight problem), so the pressure was once again on her shoulders to "deliver." She would falter (The Pirate), then rise again (Easter Parade), then falter (Annie Get Your Gun) then rise (Summer Stock) then falter again (Royal Wedding).

There were several nervous breakdowns, a couple of suicide attempts (which were more cries for help than actual atempts to kill herself), and firings from big budget films.

Finally, at the mutual consent of Judy and the studio, she left MGM in 1950 at the age of 28. Little did she (or anyone) know that this would be the beginning of a new career for Judy. A career that would cement her legendary status as "The World's Greatest Entertainer."

For more information about Judy's recordings, check out The Judy Garland Online Discography.

Follow this link to listen to, and download, Judy Garland radio performances.