World’s Strangest

Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of Bill DeMain’s new column, where he explores the real historical events that inspired various songs. “Music History” appears twice a month. “Yes! We Have No Bananas” Written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn (1922) Originally sung by Eddie Cantor The Music The story goes that one day in 1922, songwriting duo Frank [...]

Inspired by Stacy’s Christmas movie post, here are some behind-the-scenes tidbits about a handful of holiday small-screen favorites. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 1. Which came first, the TV special or the song? Johnny Marks wrote the song in 1949. He was the brother-in-law of Robert L. May, the Montgomery Ward copywriter who’d created the story of the [...]

We’re all used to seeing Snoopy, Spongebob and Spiderman balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They’re the A-Listers of the parade; the ones everyone anxiously awaits. It hasn’t always been that way, though – before these illustrious inflatables took center stage, there were other stars of the show. Check out these 10 balloons of [...]