Happy Easter Everyone! Enjoy:

http://www.bunny-rabbits.com/

That's why I'm still here at 11 pm - waiting for the kids to fall asleep so I can hide the eggs around the house.

Craig: HerrB is going to rip on you for that site!

Edsel: I thought the Easter Bunny hid the eggs!

And are you two watching "The 10 Commandments" like I am, albeit without a poor cranky teething baby with a cold? I forgot how long it is!

"Moses, Moses, Moses!"

Wow! That's one huge bunny! Think of how many people you could feed. You could make a huge batch of Hasenfeffer!

Vegetarian - An old Indian word meaning lousy hunter!

That's a hopping website Craig. I wonder if you could get those big German bunnies to tow a sleigh?

Mrs. M. -- Did you get the director's cut with the extra Commandments?

Mrs. M: Finished up the last 30 minutes of "The 10 Commandments". Still brings a tear to my eye at the end, also thinking about poor Charlton Heston now with Alzheimer's.

Word to your mother: Iditerabbit!

The Director's cut should be over somewhere around sunrise...hopefully I can stay awake for the juicy stuff!

It's been years since I've seen the 10 Commandments. Isn't that the one with Yule Brynner sporting that one big dredlock (a monolock?).

I wasn't raised in a strongly religious household, so Easter was about bunnies and baskets of candy and "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" on the tube. And ham.

"Peter Cottontail" was written by Steve Nelson & Jack Rollins in 1950. Gene Autry had the biggest hit.

Gene Autry - (No.5) [Gold] / Columbia 4-38750
Mervin Shiner - (No.8) / Decca 9-46221
Fran Allison - (No.26) / RCA Victor 47-3727
Jimmy Wakely - (No.26) / Capitol F929
Johnnie Lee Wills (No.7cw) / Bullet 700
Roy Rogers - / RCA 48-0262
Frank Luther - / Decca 9-88034

Gene Autry also released other Easter songs:

"The Funny Little Bunny (With The Powder Puff Tail)" was the flip side to "Peter Cottontail".

"Bunny Round-up Time" & "Sonny The Bunny" were issued in 1951 on Columbia 4-39217.

"The Horse With The Easter Bonnet" & "Easter Mornin'" were issued in 1954 on Columbia 4-40167.

All these Gene Autry selections are now available on the new CD "Gene Autry Year-Round Cowboy - Songs For The Whole Year" Varese Sarabande 302 066 738 2, which features all holiday songs: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and more. Gene cashed in on all holidays after the success of "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer".

And let's not forget the R&R classic "Peter Rabbit" by Dee Jay & The Runaways - (No.45) / Smash 2034 (Mercury).

Even older songs are "Easter Parade" by Clifton Webb - (No.5) Victor 24418 (from 1933). Many more recordings of this song including: Guy Lombardo, Harry James, Bing Crosby & Liberace.

[Chart data from Billboard & Joel Whitburn.]

Great stuff Craig. I had no idea there were so many "Peter Cottontail" records, but knowing bunnies, I should have guessed. To add to our herbivore sockhop, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane and also, "Rabbit Fighter" by T. Rex.

My folks love to read, so we had a Volkswagen named "Fiver" when I was a teenager.

I can just picture Gene setting there playing his guitar around a campfire, while the rabbits are roasting.

Wow, I thought for sure the giant rabbit was a hoax, but Snopes says it is true:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/giantrabbit.asp

That's one big bunny!

Of course it's true! Did you think the Easter Bunny was one of those little critters?