Great American Songbook Saturday – I Got Rhythm

Gene Kelly's 114th birthday is tomorrow. Title: KELLY, GENE • Pers: KELLY, GENE • Year: 1954 • Ref: XKE001AD • Credit: [ THE KOBAL COLLECTION ] He has certainly sung his share of songs from the Great American Songbook. Everyone knows Singin' in the Rain, but he also did Almost Like Being In Love, Grand … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – I Got Rhythm →

Great American Songbook Saturday – Blues In The Night

Today we head back to 1941, a few months before Pearl Harbor. It is another great example of two people collaborating and creating a hit song. For this week's song, It was composer Harold Arlen who wrote the music, while Johnny Mercer came up with the lyrics. The song would be the title track for … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – Blues In The Night →

Holiday History (Part 2)

51 years ago on this day, December 10, 1974, my all time favorite Christmas special aired for the first time. Long time readers of this blog are familiar with it for sure - The Year Without a Santa Claus. Back in 2019, I wrote an entire piece on the special for a blog-a-thon. Here it … Continue reading Holiday History (Part 2) →

Modern Tech Can Ruin A Classic

As a fan of old movies and old TV shows, I sometimes find myself thinking about how modern technology can immediately take an entire show or movie and destroy it. Just to prove my point, I will quickly look at a movie that I have been meaning to write about for some time - It's … Continue reading Modern Tech Can Ruin A Classic →

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

This is one of two entries that I am writing as part of The Happy Holidays Blogathon hosted by The Pure Entertainment Preservation Society (PEPS). You can check out all of the first day participants here: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2019/12/06/the-happy-holidays-blogathon-has-arrived/ While the rules state that the blogs should be about holiday "films", I appreciate them allowing me to … Continue reading The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) →

My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters

Growing up, I loved watching all of the various Christmas specials that were shown on TV every year. With the availability of almost all of them on DVD, we can watch them whenever we want - even if it's not during the holiday season! My brother and I would sit in front of the TV … Continue reading My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters →

Birthday Tribute to “Fred”

If you have read my blogs in the past, you know that it consists of a mixture of pop culture things (like movie, TV and music thoughts) and personal things (radio stories, school memories, and things from my childhood). As I thought about today's blog topic, I realized that without this man in my life … Continue reading Birthday Tribute to “Fred” →