The album is a live recording of a concert by Garland held at Carnegie Hall in New York City, with backing orchestra conducted by Mort Lindsey.

She also suffered from drug and alcohol abuse, and, by 1959, had become overweight and ill and needed extensive medical treatment.

After a long convalescence, weight loss, and vocal rest, she returned in 1960 to the concert stage with a simple program of "just Judy", omitting the vaudeville and comic acts that usually preceded her.

Garland's 1960–1961 tour of Europe and North America was a success, and her stage presence was highly regarded.

In 2001, after the television miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows showed Judy Davis recreating Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall appearance, the album was rereleased in a slightly different form, and it appeared again on the charts, rising to number 20 for internet sales, and number 26 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums.