3 hours ago, Maxim said:

I just found out that the song "I'm still here" is loosely based on Joan's life. @DRW50 linked me to a performance of it in the OLTL topic and one thing led to another... and here is what I found out on the internet.

"I'm Still Here" is a famous showstopper from the 1971 Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, often associated with Joan Crawford because Sondheim later stated he wrote it with her enduring career in mind, particularly her transition from ingénue to film noir icon. The song highlights survival, resilience, and navigating fame.

While written for the show, Sondheim later mentioned in his memoir that the song was inspired by watching Joan Crawford’s filmography, particularly her career arc through "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

"She [Crawford] started as a silent film-star, then she became a sound-star, and she eventually became superannuated and started to do camp movies [...] she became a joke on and of herself, but she survived." This shows up in the line 'First you're another sloe-eyed vamp/ Then someone's mother/ then you're camp/ then you career from career to career/ I'm almost through my memoirs/ and I'm here!"

Love this! I actually came to appreciate "I'm still here" backwards... I didn't know Broadway growing up and wasn't familiar with Elaine Stritch. But I saw "Postcards from the edge" in the theatre and adored Shirley's performance. Especially near the end when she slams the piano and yells "I'm! Still! Here!!!" ❤️😂

In recent years I learned all about Elaine and grew to love her...

@Maxim you will love this... Elaine's other standard is "The Ladies Who Lunch" from the Broadway show "Company" 1970. A documentary was filmed on the making of the Company cast album. This is behind-the-scenes of Elaine recording "Ladies who lunch" and struggling greatly, much to the frustration of the producers. But like any great diva, she ultimately perseveres and nails it!

8 hours ago, yrfan1983 said:

Love this! I actually came to appreciate "I'm still here" backwards... I didn't know Broadway growing up and wasn't familiar with Elaine Stritch. But I saw "Postcards from the edge" in the theatre and adored Shirley's performance. Especially near the end when she slams the piano and yells "I'm! Still! Here!!!" ❤️😂

In recent years I learned all about Elaine and grew to love her...

@Maxim you will love this... Elaine's other standard is "The Ladies Who Lunch" from the Broadway show "Company" 1970. A documentary was filmed on the making of the Company cast album. This is behind-the-scenes of Elaine recording "Ladies who lunch" and struggling greatly, much to the frustration of the producers. But like any great diva, she ultimately perseveres and nails it!

Ah... What a divaaaaa! Thank you for sharing it with me. I was smiling throughout. "Now I have good material and I can afford to go backwards." ❤️❤️❤️

@Maxim, @DRW50, @EricMontreal22, @yrfan1983

Speaking of "I'm Still Here," this supercut was just posted. Well ... points for ambition. It's not the curator's fault, it just feels like there's 24 distinct tempos to deal with. The idea of seeing the singers' younger selves juxtaposed with their performance is evocative, though.

Thanks @Franko

It's a bit Stairway to Stardom but I imagine it took a great deal of time and energy.

48 minutes ago, Franko said:

@Maxim, @DRW50, @EricMontreal22, @yrfan1983

Speaking of "I'm Still Here," this supercut was just posted. Well ... points for ambition. It's not the curator's fault, it just feels like there's 24 distinct tempos to deal with. The idea of seeing the singers' younger selves juxtaposed with their performance is evocative, though.

Thanks! Gotta give points for creativity. 😄

It’s such a tough song to sing… some of these ladies just aren’t able to do it justice. One of my faves is Millicent Martin. Her version is the default in Apple Music

On 3/27/2026 at 12:57 AM, Franko said:

@Maxim, @DRW50, @EricMontreal22, @yrfan1983

Speaking of "I'm Still Here," this supercut was just posted. Well ... points for ambition. It's not the curator's fault, it just feels like there's 24 distinct tempos to deal with. The idea of seeing the singers' younger selves juxtaposed with their performance is evocative, though.

So much work into this. I love it. Thank you for the tag!