CMC Day 8: Burl Ives’ Holly Jolly Christmas

 We’re kicking off Week Two of the Christmas Music Countdown with the ever-so-wonderful Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. In addition to inspiring our blog title (and by “our” I mean “my” in the diva, or royal, sense) this 1965 classic has wormed its way into the affections of generations with its simple but effective arrangements and the distinctive sound of Burl Ives.  It’s a nostalgic treat that still has power to delight.

I grew up listening to Holly Jolly Christmas on vinyl and can’t remember a time when Burl Ives’s unique voice wasn’t a part of the holidays. Many of you will be familiar with Burl as the voice of the snowman narrator in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated TV movie, and indeed, his rendition of Rudolph is featured on this album.  But Burl got his start – and did much of his best work – as a folk singer, and that influence is heard strongly on this recording, which also benefits from the conducting talents of the great Owen Bradley.

The 12 selections on the album range from commercial successes like the title cut,  Rudolph, Silver Bells, White Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (the definitive version, IMO)  and The Little Drummer Boy to lesser-known songs such as Christmas Child, Christmas is a Birthday, Christmas Can’t Be Far Away and Conway Twitty’s Snow for Johnny. The arrangements are in keeping with the content and the era, with great acoustic guitar, a nice backup chorus and an orchestra to round out the sound.

I particularly like the folk-y tunes and am also extremely fond of Burl’s rendition of the Johnny Marks setting of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  I think the title cut alone would make this one of the top 20 Christmas albums ever made.