Burl Ives - The first cover of Ghost Riders In The Sky, recorded in 1949
Matthew Hubbard
Oct 6, 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2klh2cTa_Q

This is the first recording of this famous song by someone other than the writer, Stan Jones working in Gene Autry's band, who recorded it in 1948. In February 1949, Burl Ives, famous as a folk singer for years before he became an actor, recorded this. Vaughn Monroe's big baritone and orchestra version became a number one hit a month later, but it's great to listen to Burl sing this much simpler version, just his clear tenor voice and strumming on a single instrument, which is either a banjo or a steel stringed guitar.

Viewer comments:

@lestranged
I love the minimalism of this version, it makes it feel more lonesome and eerie, like you are out alone on a wide prairie at night with the huge glowing sky above you.

@peterfarrell8520

Burl Ives was probably one of the greatest folk singers of our time. His other talents paled into insignificance next to his voice and impeccable phrase & timing . He is in a league with very few who possess this talent!

@ekw
I was an 8-year-old kid when this song came on the radio in 1949. It gave me chills every time I heard it. Hearing Burl Ives sing that mournful chorus, Yippee aye aaayyy, yippee aye ohhhh, in that delicate, almost transcendent falsetto, brings tears to my eyes today. As a kid I got chills, as a broken down old geezer, I totally fall apart!

What a great song and what a great singer.