No man is a failure who has friends.

December 20, 1946 -
The Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theatre, (a day before its official premiere) on this date.





But wait ...



The film is no longer available online – please enjoy the 1947 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast.



The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world, although, due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a flop.



There have been countless parody of this classic film -













(Another, more adult alternate ending of the film) -



This is truly a strange little film.




ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like to share with you another of their annual salute to the holidays via Rock and Roll (well, some Rock and Roll).


Run Rudolph Run  Chuck Berry –



The song holds the record for the longest amount of time between a song hitting the charts and then breaking into the Top 10. When it was released in December 1958, it went to #69 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2019, it re-entered the chart at #45, and in January 2021 - 62 years and two weeks after its chart debut - it reached its peak at #10.


Christmas All Over Again  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers –



The song was recorded for A Very Special Christmas 2, benefiting the Special Olympics.


What Would Santa Do   The Monkees –



Yes I know, they're almost all gone now.


Please Come Home For Christmas  The Eagles –



Charles Brown was a Texas blues musician who recorded the popular R&B Christmas song Merry Christmas Baby in 1947. Please Come Home For Christmas is a very melancholy Christmas song, as the singer has lost his girl and finds himself unbearably lonely over the holidays. Brown wrote it with Gene Redd, who was a New York producer that went on to guide the career of Kool & the Gang.


Father Christmas  The Kinks –



In England, Father Christmas is the personification of Christmas, in the same way as Santa Claus is in the United States. Although the characters are now synonymous, historically Father Christmas and Santa Claus have separate entities, stemming from unrelated traditions.


Here's a holiday song I'm guessing you haven't heard - Carol of the Bells, featuring Stephen Colbert and Henry Rollins:



The internet meme Ding! Fries Are Done is the anthem of a Burger King worker named Billy set to the tune of Carol of the Bells. It originated in 1993 on the mysterious singer's cassette album A Very Spastic Christmas and gained attention the following year on the Dr. Demento radio show. In 2006, Peter Griffin covered the song on the Family Guy episode Deep Throats. Despite the cartoon's popularity, interest in the song waned not long after the episode aired.


And, of course, Santa Claus Is Comin To Town  Bruce Springsteen –



Bruce Springsteen released the song as the B-Side to My Hometown in 1985 ( he had been playing it in concert for years,) and it quickly became a holiday staple. Strangely, many people consider it one of the worst Christmas songs.

Demand Euphoria!