Burl Ives, known for singing the Holiday classic Holly Jolly Christmas, was born near Hunt City in Jasper County in 1909. He is also well-known as the singer-narrator of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a television special that ran for many years in the 1960s.

Ives began singing at a young age, learning the banjo in high school and dropping out of college to become a traveling banjo-playing folk singer.

Ives earned a job with CBS radio in the 1940s, and would go on to record more than 100 albums in his lifetime. 

While his singing career is most well-known, Ives also starred in more than 30 movies, including Smoky, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Big Country, for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor.

Learn more:
Burl Ives IMDb Biography
Burl Ives - History.com Profile