When Rankin and Bass decided to make a half-hour stop-motion animated version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, they enlisted the song’s composer, Johnny Marks, to write the other songs for the show. The two he came up with, “Silver Bells” and “Holly Jolly Christmas” became instant classics and were recorded, along with the show’s namesake, the next year by the show’s star and narrator Burl Ives. They were released as singles and on the album Have a Holly Jolly Christmas on Decca/MCA Records in October 1965.

Originally envisioned as a song for the character of Yukon Cornelius to sing, when Ives was recruited they rewrote the script to have Sam the Snowman sing the song. The version that is known and loved is actually a re-recording of the original that is a little more ‘pop’, enhancing the happy, almost goofy, lyric that is delivered with such conviction and warmth by Mr. Ives. When I hear this it brings the memories of a simpler time when I waited each year for the chance to see all the classic Rankin – Bass shows in the days before Christmas.