The Wayfaring Stranger — Burl Ives
Over the holiday season, I did a little more Christmas listening than I usually do for the station. Honestly, I'm not a big Christmas music guy. I mean, hey, we all get burned out hearing the same tracks every December, but now and then it’s worth stepping back and recognizing some of those holiday standards for the greatness they really hold.
One of those songs for me was “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives. I’ve heard it a thousand times, but this time it stopped me in my tracks. That voice. Warm, massive, instantly comforting. It made me wonder: what else did this guy actually do?
Ives began his career as an itinerant folk singer and guitarist, traveling and collecting traditional songs. He eventually launched his own radio show, The Wayfaring Stranger, which helped popularize American folk music for a mass audience. By 1942, he had appeared in Irving Berlin’s This Is the Army and became a major star on CBS Radio.
Ives also had a substantial film career through the late 1940s and ’50s. His roles included So Dear to My Heart (1948) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), but his most celebrated performance came as Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country (1958), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He followed that with darker roles like the film noir Day of the Outlaw (1959).
Burl Ives with Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Of course, Ives is inseparable from Christmas culture. He voiced Sam the Snowman, the narrator of the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and contributed to its soundtrack. Songs like “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” still chart every year well into the 2020s.
That seasonal dominance is probably why, at the time of writing this, Burl Ives sits around #346 among the most-listened-to artists in the world—almost entirely on the back of holiday streams.
Burl Ives with the Character Figures in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
After doing some digging into his 60’s Discograpghy, it surprised me how many themed albums he has. I checked out a handful, and they feel more like curated worlds than random collections of songs.
Songs of the West (1961)
Here, Ives tackles classic Western tunes like “Home on the Range,” “Jingle Jangle Jingle,” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” Coming from a folk background, this material fits him perfectly. His voice gives these songs a dusty, cinematic warmth that feels completely natural.
Ugly Bug Ball (1963)
There’s a whole lane of children’s music for Ives—Chim Chim Cheree and other sing-along records—plus Disney contributions like Summer Magic and the unforgettable “Ugly Bug Ball.” If you grew up with these movies, his voice is probably already baked into your memory.
Scouting Along (1964)
One of the more unexpected (and genuinely charming) entries in Ives’ catalog is Scouting Along, an album officially tied to the Boy Scouts of America. As a former Boy Scout myself, I couldn’t help but smile when I put this on. The cover proudly calls it the official Boy Scouts album, and somehow it really does manage to stretch hiking, campfires, and outdoor life into a full record.
Songs like “I’m Happy When I’m Hiking,” “She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain,” and campfire medleys feature Ives up front with Scouts singing in the background. Its exactly what you think it will sound like
Ives was a Lone Scout as a boy and maintained a lifelong relationship with the organization. In 1966, he was formally inducted into the Boy Scouts and later received the Silver Buffalo Award, their highest honor. He regularly appeared at National Jamborees, narrated an official Scouting film, and clearly saw this album as personal work.
On the Beach at Waikiki (1965)
This was my favorite of the bunch I listened to. Sonically, it’s warm, relaxed, and very listenable. But it also reflects America’s mid-century “Hawaii fever,” and not always in a good way. Songs like “Little Brown Gal” are uncomfortable reminders of how casually racist some of this era’s pop music could be. However, the vibes are great, the execution is sincere, but the lyrics on certain tracks are undeniably rough and hard to ignore.
The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1968)
This one is fascinating—and not entirely successful. It’s Ives’ attempt to go electric and modern, following the path of Dylan and other folk artists of the era. Some of it works, but much of it feels unsure. His voice, usually so confident, sounds shaky here, like he’s not fully convinced by the experiment himself. The tracklist pulls from heavy hitters—Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, even Charlie Daniels—but the album never fully clicks.
Burl Ives had one of the strangest and most wide-ranging careers I’ve come across. Folk traditionalist. Radio star. Oscar-winning actor. Children’s entertainer. Boy Scout. And of course, Holiday King.
Yes, he’ll always be synonymous with Christmas. But after spending real time with his catalog, I’m happy to say his non-holiday work is just as rich, interesting, and worth revisiting. Ives is one Holly Jolly guy whos got a record crate worth of music you ought to check out.
Don’t Worry, I did the heary listening for you. Check out the best of Burl Ives on this playlist I made below!
