Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
Studio album by
Burl Ives
ReleasedOctober 1965
Recorded1964
StudioBrooklyn Studios
GenreChristmas, folk, pop
Length29:28
LabelDecca
ProducerMilt Gabler
Burl Ives chronology
On the Beach at Waikiki
(1965) 		Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
(1965) 		Shall We Gather at the River?
(1965)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas is a Christmas album by American folk singer Burl Ives, first released by Decca Records in October 1965 (recorded in 1964). It peaked at #32 on Billboard's Best Bets For Christmas album chart on December 2, 1967.[2]

Ives had recorded two of the songs on the album ("A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") previously for the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer soundtrack, but he recorded new versions for Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" in particular had a significantly different and slower arrangement, which is more commonly heard today. This version had already been released as a single the previous year, with a B-side of "Snow for Johnny", which he also featured on the album.[3]

Track listing

LP side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Holly Jolly Christmas"Johnny Marks2:15
2."Christmas is a Birthday"
2:42
3."Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
2:09
4."Christmas Child"
2:50
5."White Christmas"Irving Berlin2:10
6."Christmas Can't Be Far Away"Boudleaux Bryant2:34
LP side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Little Drummer Boy"
3:17
2."Snow for Johnny"
2:42
3."Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"Johnny Marks2:10
4."Winter Wonderland"
2:17
5."Silver Bells"
2:13
6."I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"Johnny Marks2:13

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
Chart (2019–2023) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[4] 71
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] 48
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[6] 27
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 47

References

  1. ^ Torreano, Bradley. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 79, no. 48, December 2, 1967, p. 8. worldradiohistory.com.
  3. ^ Decca Records #31695, A-side of "A Holly Jolly Christmas", with a B-side of "Snow for Johnny"
  4. ^ "Burl Ives Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Burl Ives – Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "2023 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  7. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
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