This time of year, I hear the name Burl Ives.
Very rarely during the year do I ever hear that name, save at Christmas. Probably because of "Holly Jolly Christmas", which the man made famous. And because he is the voice of the snowman in "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer." I haven't seen that in so long I can't remember if he sings this in the show or not.
Anyway, yesterday on my favorite morning radio show, Mike & Mike in the Morning, Mike Greenberg and someone else were talking about Burl.
Why there aren't more people in this world named Burl I don't know. It's a great name. I mean, for a guy, not a lady, of course.
Think about it. No matter your last name, Burl goes with it. And no matter what, you sound like either a world class athlete or a rugged individualist patriot.
Burl Smith.
Burl Black.
Burl Jackson.
Burl McDonald.
Burl Greenberg.
Burl Van Dyke.
Burl Connors.
Burl Marciano.
Burl Patel.
Burl Bush.
Burl Yamamoto.
But wait a minute. There's something I didn't think of- I may be wrong.
Yep, no doubt about it. There's an exception to every rule.
And that is- what if you're French?
I think being named Burl de Lafite would still get your butt kicked in grade school.
Yes, the snowman does sing the song. Yes, we watch Rudolph every year. And sometimes not even at Christmas time.
ReplyDeleteHow about Burl Ivanhoe? That was his given name. And how about this little tidbit:
ReplyDeleteBurl Ives was involved in Freemasonry from his youth, becoming a DeMolay in 1927. A memorial service was held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Los Angeles. The Ashes were taken to Newton, Jasper County, Illinois and the urn was interred beside his mother with the Masons and the Baptist minister from his boyhood church conducting the final committal.
Ah, what a nice combination: freemasonry and Baptist theology. Yikes! Wish I hadn't read that just now since I have such nice memories of him.
Here's one more little tidbit from a very rugged Burl:
ReplyDeleteBurl Ives liked to party.
It was that love that actually sent him on his legendary music career. One night in 1930 at Eastern Illinois University, legend has it that Ives got busted taking part in an excursion to the Pemberton Hall women’s dorm. School officials found him a tad intoxicated and playing the piano in the lobby.
But Burl — a football player and history major with shoddy grades — was close with Eastern's president, Livingston C. Lord, who encouraged him to stop pursuing a teaching degree and instead begin focusing on his real talent: music.
Source: http://eiuhalloffame.com/burlives/Ives.html
Barb!
ReplyDeleteI thought so. Thanks. Now, go and enjoy Rudolph throughout this next year.
TK!
So much Burl info! I'm impressed by your knowledge of the Burl-meister.