The Timelessness of "I'm Still Here"- Page 2
The Timelessness of "I'm Still Here"
#25The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/28/11 at 6:14pm
Au contraire, Reginald!
Mrs. Simpson was commonly referred to as "Wally" by the regional U.S. tabloids, never by the better periodicals.
THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j-M-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=-UwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5346,7241415&dq=wally+simpson&hl=en
THE PITTSBURGH PRESS
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HFwbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-UwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4744,1699293&dq=wally+simpson&hl=en
THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ssUnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fGkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5691,5774327&dq=wally+simpson&hl=en
THE LEWISTON (Maine) DAILY SUN
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gsEgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qGoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3454,4287789&dq=wally+simpson&hl=en
#26The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/28/11 at 6:18pmIf it's good enough for Tuscaloosa and Lewiston, it's good enough for me.
Mythos
Swing Joined: 9/25/04
#27The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/28/11 at 7:46pmThe historical specifics of the song are irrelevant. Anyone can infer, say, 'Paris Hilton' for Brenda Frazer---the sentiment remains the same.
sabrelady
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#28The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/28/11 at 7:50pm
Well, Sondheim DID kinda update some of the lyrics For "Postcards from the Edge"
Shirley Maclaine: I'm Still Here
chewy5000
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/09
#29The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/28/11 at 9:48pm
TulitaPepsi
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
#30The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 12:39pm
And don't forget Streisands lame, self-aggrandizing update she performed in concert a few years ago. I hope SS got megabucks for his "special material". I'd love to hear Barbra sing it as originally written in her too-rare "actress who sings" mode.
There are versions where "Shirley Temple" is substituted for "Brenda Frazier".
#31The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 12:45pm
And Stritch now changes it to Barbara Walters. Unsure if that's a Sondheim approved change but her delivery of it gets a gigantic laugh.
Brenda Frazer is probably the most obscure of the references, so the Temple/Walters changes don't bother me.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#32The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 12:46pm
"There are versions where "Shirley Temple" is substituted for "Brenda Frazier".
That's what they did with the lame Broadway revival a few years ago. But I was so confused because I didn't know if they were referring to the actress Shirley Temple or the drink Shirley Temple or the synagogue in Shirley, PA.
#33The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 1:04pmThe first time Shirley Temple substituted Brenda Frazier was for the Side by Side recording.
#34The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 1:23pmCole Porter's full version of "Anything Goes" contains far more obscure references than "I'm Still here". Or what about a song like "Zip" from Pal Joey?
#35The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 2:19pm
Future U.S. Representative from NY Garrow T Geer Jr and his date Brenda Frazier, the most famous debutante in the world, in formal wear getting drinks at the bar at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1938
If Sondheim had seen this picture, he might have changed the lyric to "I've been through Garrow Geer Junior and I'm here"
#36The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 2:27pmHas anyone listened to PS Classics' newish recording of "Life Begins at "8:40"? That score is so period reference heavy it took me hours to listen to it, constantly using the liner and google to get the jokes (and I though I knew that period well enough). Had to take a nap afterwards.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#37The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 4:07pmAnything Goes is one of my favorite songs. And one of the things I loved most about it was ferreting out the stories behind Porter's lines. And apparently, when something newsworthy happened, he'd write a new line and take it to the theater to drop it in. Can you imagine? You go to see a hit show and in the midst of the title number, Ethel Merman makes reference to something that happened THAT DAY? How amazing would that be!
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#38The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 4:10pmIf that's not just legend, then that must have been during her pre "Call Me Miss Birdseye" days!
#39The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 5:07pm
For those who struggle, a woman name June Abernathy compiled this annotated guide to the song:
sondheim.com: 'I'm Still...' What!?
#40The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 5:18pm
And you ain't had the "heebie-jeebies" till you've heard the Boswell Sisters singing the "Heebie Jeebies":
The Boswell Sisters - Heebie Jeebies (1932)
chewy5000
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/09
#41The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/29/11 at 8:25pm
Or for those who want to now how to make a vodka stinger:
http://www.sondheim.com/features/the_sondheimcom_faq.html
#42The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:02am
Blecch. I ordered one once and would NEVER have another.
No wonder the next sound our of her mouth is a growl.
#43The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:18am
>>> In the context of the show, the song can never be updated. FOLLIES takes place in 1971, and always will. Carlotta in 1971 would not be singing about Barbara Walters, Bill Clinton, Britney Spears, and reality TV. I can see updating it for cabarets, etc.
Agreed. And I think it's sorta good that one doesn't always pick up the references. This is an older woman making references to things in the past. She's singing about things that are relevant to *her*, not to you. It's just like when an older person today talks about listening to the wireless or eating a Denver sandwich (my parents tell me there was a chocolate bar with this name). The old school references adds to the charm of the song.
#44The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 2:29pm
Bumped, because of recent discussions.
I ordered ANOTHER Vodka Stinger recently, before seeing the Company concert at Avery Fisher Hall--and it was still disgusting.
#45The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 2:39pmVodka's just gross.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#46The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 2:43pmHave a Sidecar, Joey. Now that's a drink!
sabrelady
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#47The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 2:49pmDon't you be dissin' the Vodka now- Chelsea Handler will string u up for blaspheming agin her gawd!
#48The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 3:13pmYou have to appreciate that some people hear "Mahler" and think cheesecake.
CurtainCall
Understudy Joined: 4/1/11
#49The Timelessness of 'I'm Still Here'
Posted: 5/16/11 at 5:59pm
I loved watching Dolores Gray perform the number in London, she left you in know doubt what she thought of the individuals or events mentioned - as an audience, you don't need to have an encyclopedic knowledge of mid-twentieth century history - it's Carlotta's story and her reaction is the only thing that is important. I also get the idea that she's rather bemused by the people she recalls - I mean why Ghandi??
There was a slight crossover with the history in the song, that I witnessed, on the night that Dolores Gray sang the song for the Queen and Queen Mother at the Royal Variety - on the line "Windsor and Wally's affair" , my eyes swiveled to the Royal Box to see if there would be a reaction (and I can't have been the only one), but the Windsors didn't bat an eyelash - after all that 'affair' was the reason why they were sitting where they were.
Oh and for the record Shirley Temple - always seems to get a bigger laugh.
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