Indie Country Star Luanne Hunt’s popular holiday song, “Christmas Without You” (a.k.a. “Patsy Cline’s Lost Christmas Song”), still going strong as it reaches 10th anniversary of its worldwide release.
Release:
Nearly sixty years after legendary singer Patsy Cline made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage in January, 1960, the holiday single she commissioned but never got to record, “Christmas Without You,” celebrates its 10th anniversary.
The tune, also known as “Patsy Cline’s Lost Christmas Song,” was recorded by award-winning Indie Country Star Luanne Hunt and officially released to worldwide radio in 2009. Numerous accolades followed, including landing on Dagens Nyheter’s (Sweden’s largest daily newspaper) list of Top 25 Christmas Songs of All-Time.
The song also has been featured on popular social media sites, such as Universal Music’s UDiscover Music, Country Rebel, Country Music Nation, AutoStraddle and Truckers News. Over the years, “Christmas Without You” has topped numerous European country music charts. In addition, the song’s Youtube video has been viewed by nearly half a million people.
“Luanne continues to impress with her interpretation of this beautifully written song,” said music exec Laura Patterson, who re-released the tune on her Star 1 Records label in 2018. “It’s easy to see how it has become a favorite Christmas classic and we were honored to re-release it worldwide.”
“Christmas Without You” was originally written by Lawton Jiles and Charles (Buster) Beam in the early 1960s on the request of Cline. According to Jiles, Cline never had the opportunity to record it the way it was originally intended and was heartbroken she was unable to give her fans a signature Christmas song.
“Buster and I wrote the song for Patsy and she loved it,” said Jiles, who also has written songs for Hunt, Porter Wagoner and Janie Fricke. “She took it to her label and they weren’t really looking for a Christmas song, so they asked me and Buster to change the lyrics to something non-seasonal. It became ‘How Can I Face Tomorrow?,’ which wound up not doing very well on the charts. Patsy was very upset, to say the least.”
Hunt said she was beyond honored when Jiles played the song for her and asked if she’d like to record it.
“I’ll never forget the day I recorded ‘Christmas Without You” said Hunt. “I was standing there at the studio mic hoping that she (Patsy) was smiling down on me. I think if she were still with us, she would be thrilled to know how many people’s lives have been touched by this wonderful, and relatable, song.”
“Christmas Without You” was produced by Eric Uglum (Alison Krauss, Ron Block, Ralph Stanley, Cherryholmes and Nickel Creek).
“I’ve always believed if Patsy would have recorded ‘Christmas Without You’ it would have become a holiday standard,” said Jiles. “It’s the kind of Christmas song you hear once and want to sing along. It’s very simple, but the simple songs are usually the ones people love the most. I’m not surprised Luanne’s version is doing so well.”
Watch the video that tells the fascinating story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7txbkE2FsU
For more information about Hunt, visit www.luannehunt.com.
