From France we go to the United States and another Johnny Marks Christmas hit. A Holly Jolly Christmas was featured in the 1964 television show, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was sung by Sam the Snowman. That character was voiced by Burl Ives, who re-recorded the song a year later for his own Christmas album — the version we hear on the radio during the holiday season.

There are a lot of different chords that can be added to the melody line when playing this on the ukulele. It’s a really challenging song to learn, especially for a beginner:

I’ve commissioned the family for the grand finale of the 2018 Uketide Tunes concert. We’re going on vacation for this one!