This is the first "Original Soundtrack Album" ever released. Previously, RCA Records had released a few songs from Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937) on 78. Those discs were never considered to be the "soundtrack album" of music from that film, just a few highlights. Prior to that, a couple of discs featuring some of Max Steiner's score for RKO's King Kong (1933) had been released as "commemorative" records when the film was premiered. These were crude discs with Steiner's score abruptly ending when that side of the 78 reached its end!

Although by no means a complete representation of the entire soundtrack for Clouds, this M-G-M Records release inaugurated their soundtracks division and paved the way for soundtracks of most MGM Musicals released afterwards. Due to the limitations of the 78 "albums" of the day, and also the time constraints of the 78rpm records themselves, most of the songs on M-G-M Records soundtrack albums are abridged versions of those heard in the films themselves. It wouldn't be until the late 1960's through the early 1980's that companies would release bootleg "complete" soundtracks to many of MGM's best musicals.

Naturally Till The Clouds Roll By would be re-released by M-G-M Records over the years, and Judy's two numbers represented here would be included in most of the compilations of songs from her films. After Judy's contract with Decca Records expired in 1947, she would be an "exclusive" for M-G-M Records until her departure from the studio in 1950.

Judy filmed her sequences for Clouds just after her honeymoon with husband Vincente Minnelli. Her sequences were directed by Minnelli, even though the rest of the film was directed by Richard Whorf. After the filming of her sequences was completed in the fall of 1945, Judy would take a full year off from filmmaking - her first real vacation since the late 1930's - to give birth to daughter Liza Minnelli. Judy would later relate how she found it amusing while filming the "Who" number, running around asking the musical question "Who?" to a group of men while pregnant!

I personally feel that Judy's sequences in Clouds best present "Judy Garland the premier MGM musical leading lady." She looks wonderful, sounds great, and simply glows with happiness. Not surprising, as she was pregnant with Liza at the time she filmed her numbers.

All images on this page from the collections of Scott Brogan and Eric Hemphill.