Burl Ives was a unique and remarkable entertainer, a folk and pop singer and guitarist, composer, radio performer and stage and film actor, who helped popularise traditional folk music across all generations but also had pop hits in his later career. 

Born in Illinois in 1909, he gave up training to be a teacher to become an itinerant troubadour-style entertainer, working on radio, and once jailed for vagrancy in Utah. After Army service in WWII, and appearing in Irving Berlin’s “This Is The Army”, he became a radio regular, and started recording, reviving many US and British folk songs.  His early recordings of songs like “Blue Tail Fly”, “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “I Know An Old Lady” became children’s radio favourites for decades. 

This 87-track 3-CD collection comprises selected A & B sides from releases on the Columbia & Decca labels from these years, plus selected titles from the Decca albums “A Collection of Ballads & Folk Songs”, “Ballads & Folk Songs Vol 2”, “Folk Songs - Dramatic And Humorous”, “Women (Folk Songs About The Fair Sex)”, “Wild Side Of Life”, “Men: Songs For And About Men”, “Down To The Sea In Ships”, “Songs Of Ireland”, “Capt. Burl Ives Ark”, “Old Time Varieties”, “Australian Folk Songs” and “Cheers”. It includes his hits “Riders In The Sky, “Marianne”, “A Little Bitty Tear”, “Funny Way Of Laughing”, “Call Me Mr. In-Between” and “Mary Ann Regrets”. 

He was a one-of-a-kind performer, and this selection from his prolific recorded canon is a celebration of his distinctive contribution to popular culture.

CD 1
1. WEE COOPER O' FIFE Burl Ives (Columbia 36733) 1941 
2. COWBOY'S LAMENT  Burl Ives (Columbia 36733) 1941 
3. I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING Burl Ives (Columbia 36734) 1941 
4. TAM PIERCE Burl Ives (Columbia 36734) 1941 
5. PETER GRAY  Burl Ives (Columbia 36735) 1941 
6. ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY Burl Ives (Columbia 36735) 1941 
7. COTTON EYED JOE Burl Ives (Columbia 36736) 1941 
8. DARLIN' CORY Burl Ives (Columbia 36736) 1941 
9. FOGGY, FOGGY DEW Burl Ives (Decca 23405) 1945 
10. BLUE TAIL FLY Burl Ives (Decca 23439) 1945 
11. BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN Burl Ives (Decca 23439) 1945 
12. OLD DAN TUCKER Burl Ives (Decca 23504) 1945 
13. THE EDDYSTONE LIGHT Burl Ives (Decca 23505) 1945 
14. THE FOX Burl Ives (Decca 23506) 1945 
15. AUNT RHODY Burl Ives (Decca 23507) 1945 
16. DOWN IN THE VALLEY Burl Ives (Decca 23591) 1946 
17. I'M THINKING TONIGHT OF MY BLUE EYES Burl Ives (Decca 23958) 1947 
18. TURTLE DOVE Burl Ives (Decca 23965) 1944 
19. PO' BOY Burl Ives (Decca 23967) 1944 
20. LAVENDER BLUE Burl Ives (Decca 24547) 1948 
21. ON THE GRAND CANYON LINE Burl Ives (Decca 24619) 1946 
22. WAYFARING STRANGER Burl Ives (Columbia 38445) 1949 
23. RIDERS IN THE SKY Burl Ives (Columbia 38445) 1949 
24. ROVING GAMBLER Burl Ives (Columbia 38484) 1949 
25. JOHN HARDY Burl Ives (Columbia 38485) 1949 
26. WORRIED MAN BLUES Burl Ives (Columbia 38591) 1949 
27. MR FROGGIE WENT A-COURTIN Burl Ives (Columbia 38591) 1949 
28. MULE TRAIN Burl Ives (Columbia 38644) 1949 
29. JOHN HENRY Burl Ives (Columbia 38733) 1949 
30. DOUGHNUT SONG Burl Ives (Columbia 38765) 1950 
31. PRETTY POLLY Burl Ives (Columbia 38935) 1950

CD 2
1. GREEN BROOM Burl Ives (Columbia 38938) 1950 
2. PIG PIG Burl Ives (Columbia 38961) 1950 
3. THE WILD SIDE OF LIFE Burl Ives (Decca 28055) 1952 
4. THIS TIME TOMORROW Burl Ives (Decca 28079) 1952 
5. DIESEL SMOKE, DANGEROUS CURVES Burl Ives (Decca 28161) 1952 
6. GOOBER PEAS Burl Ives (Decca DL5467) 1952 
7. GIT ALONG LITTLE DOGIES Burl Ives (Decca DL5467) 1952 
8. HUSH LITTLE BABY Burl Ives (Decca DL5467) 1952 
9. I KNOW AN OLD LADY Burl Ives (Decca DL5467) 1952 
10. NELLIE MCNESS Burl Ives (Decca DL5490) 1953 
11. MOLLY MALONE Burl Ives (Decca DL5490) 1953 
12. LIZA JANE Burl Ives (Decca DL5490) 1953 
13. BARBARA ALLEN Burl Ives (Decca DL5490) 1953 
14. CLOSE THE DOOR RICHARD Burl Ives (Decca 28708) 1952 
15. THE CRAWDAD SONG Burl Ives (Decca 28935) 1953 
16. CASEY JONES Burl Ives (Decca 29129) 1954 
17. THE BALLAD OF DAVY CROCKETT Burl Ives (Decca 29423) 1955 
18. WABASH CANNONBALL Burl Ives (Decca 29533) 1954 
19. JACK WAS EVERY INCH A SAILOR Burl Ives (Decca 29910) 1955 
20. OX DRIVER'S SONG Burl Ives (Decca DL8125) 1955 
21. WALTZING MATILDA (THE JOLLY SWAGMAN'S SONG) Burl Ives (Decca DL8125) 1955 
22. THE WILD ROVER Burl Ives (Decca DL8125) 1955 
23. FRANKIE AND JOHNNY Burl Ives (Decca DL8125) 1955 
24. PRISONER'S SONG (MIDNIGHT SPECIAL) Burl Ives (Decca DL8125) 1955 
25. SANTY ANNA Burl Ives (Decca DL8245) 1955 
26. BLOW YE WINDS! Burl Ives (Decca DL8245) 1955 
27. THE DRUNKEN SAILOR Burl Ives (Decca DL8245) 1955 
28. ROLLING HOME Burl Ives (Decca DL8245) 1955

CD 3
1. MAID OF THE SWEET BROWN KNOWE Burl Ives (Decca  DL8444) 1956 
2. KILGARY MOUNTAIN Burl Ives (Decca  DL8444) 1956 
3. NELL FLAHERTY'S DRAKE Burl Ives (Decca  DL8444) 1957 
4. PADDY AND THE WHALE Burl Ives (Decca  DL8444) 1957 
5. THE SQUIRREL Burl Ives (Decca DL8587) 1955 
6. HORACE THE HORSE Burl Ives (Decca DL8587) 1953 
7. THE BESTIARY Burl Ives (Decca DL8587) 1957 
8. THE MONKEY AND THE ELEPHANT Burl Ives (Decca DL8587) 1957 
9. IN THE EVENING BY THE MOONLIGHT Burl Ives (Decca  DL8637) 1957 
10. THE MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE Burl Ives (Decca  DL8637) 1957 
11. GRANDFATHER'S CLOCK Burl Ives (Decca  DL8637) 1957 
12. THE MAN THAT BROKE THE BANK AT MONTE CARLO Burl Ives (Decca  DL8637) 1957 
13. THE WILD COLONIAL BOY Burl Ives (Decca DL8749) 1957 
14. A NAUTICAL YARN Burl Ives (Decca DL8749) 1957 
15. BOTANY BAY Burl Ives (Decca DL8749) 1957 
16. OH BY JINGO (OH BY GEE, YOU'RE THE ONLY GIRL FOR ME) Burl Ives (Decca DL8886) 1959 
17. TIT WILLOW Burl Ives (Decca DL8886) 1959 
18. I NEVER SEE MAGGIE ALONE Burl Ives (Decca DL8886) 1959 
19. THERE IS A TAVERN IN THE TOWN Burl Ives (Decca DL8886) 1959 
20. THERE'S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET Burl Ives (Decca DL8886) 1959 
21. MARIANNE Burl Ives (Decca 30217) 1957 
22. THE LONG BLACK VEIL Burl Ives (Decca 31248) 1961 
23. A LITTLE BITTY TEAR Burl Ives (Decca 31330) 1961 
24. SHANGHAIED  (Decca 31330) 1961 
25. MOCKIN' BIRD HILL Burl Ives (Decca 25524) 1961 
26. FUNNY WAY OF LAUGHIN' Burl Ives (Decca 31371) 1962 
27. MOTHER WOULDN'T DO THAT   (Decca 31371) 1962 
28. CALL ME MR. IN-BETWEEN Burl Ives (Decca 31405) 1962 
29. MARY ANN REGRETS Burl Ives (Decca 31433) 1962