Patsy Cline's Lost Christmas Song Surges in Popularity 50 Years After Singer's Death

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Patsy Cline's Lost Christmas Song Surges in
Popularity 50 Years After Singer's Death
1888PressRelease - Legendary country singer Patsy
Cline asked songwriters Lawton Jiles and Buster
Beam to write her a Christmas song in 1960. They
penned the tune "Christmas Without You" but Patsy
never had the opportunity to record it the way it
was originally intended. Fifty years after her
death, the tune is now available for the world to
hear, thanks to chart-topping Indie recording
artist Luanne Hunt. Three years before Patsy
Cline died in plane crash on March 5, 1963, the
beloved country songbird was at the peak of her
career and longing to record a Christmas song to
give to her fans, according to longtime country
music songwriter Lawton Jiles. Cline, whose
hits include "Crazy," and "I Fall to Pieces,"
commissioned Jiles and his partner Buster Beam to
write that song. Sadly, she did not have the
opportunity to record it the way it was
originally intended. But now, 50 years after
Cline's passing, the Jiles/Beam-penned song,
"Christmas Without You," is being embraced around
the world thanks to chart-topping Star Creek
Entertainment recording artist Luanne Hunt.
Hunt's rendition of "Christmas Without You" has
racked up an impressive amount of views on
Youtube since she released a video for the tune
in November 2012. It also has received an
overwhelming response from Cline's fans, as well
as listeners on popular Internet radios stations
like The Sounds of Christmas.
In December, 2011, the melancholy tune went to
No. 1 on the European Country Music Association
chart in France, Denmark and Austria. It also was
the second most played song in Europe during that
same month.
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"I've always believed if Patsy would have
recorded 'Christmas Without You' it would have
become a holiday standard," said Jiles, who also
has written songs for Porter Wagoner and Janie
Fricke. "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." The story behind "Christmas
Without You," is an interesting one, indeed.
Jiles said Patsy called him one day in the summer
of 1960 and asked if he and his collaborator
Buster Beam would write a holiday tune for her.
The pair, who wrote Cline's Top 10 hit "Let the
Teardrops Fall," went to work immediately and
penned "Christmas Without You." According to
Jiles, Cline was thrilled when she heard their
demo and promptly presented it to her label in
the hopes they would allow her to record
it. Unfortunately, Cline's representatives were
more interested in having her release a
non-seasonal song and asked Jiles and Beam to
write new lyrics to the existing melody. They
quickly came up with different words and the
title, "How Can I Face Tomorrow?" The song was
released shortly thereafter and only made a
modest showing on the Cashbox Country Charts,
according to Jiles. Jiles said he and Patsy were
extremely disappointed "Christmas Without You"
wasn't recorded in its original form. He hoped
another artist would record it someday and
couldn't be more delighted with Hunt's
production. "I got a rush when I first heard
Luanne's recording of 'Christmas Without You,'"
said Jiles, a friend and colleague of Hunt's.
"The song's been in my head for years and to hear
it done the way I always envisioned it is very
exciting. It's a perfect blend of the traditional
and contemporary." "Christmas Without You" was
produced by Eric Uglum (Alison Krauss, Ron Block,
Ralph Stanley, Cherryholmes and Nickel Creek). It
features an impressive twin-fiddle performance by
folk/bluegrass fiddle sensation Christian Ward,
who has shared the stage with Ricky Skaggs and
has toured with Rounder Records artist Sierra
Hull. Also on the single are Austin Ward (upright
bass), Roger Gillespie (drums), Hal Ratliff
(keyboards) and Uglum (guitar, mandolin and
harmony vocals).
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"I'll never forget the day I recorded Patsy's
lost Christmas song," said Hunt. "I was standing
there at the studio mic hoping that she (Patsy)
was smiling down on me. I know her version would
have been phenomenal, but I hope her fans will
accept my recording and see it mostly as a
tribute to one of the greatest country artists
there ever was or ever will be." "Christmas
Without You" is included on Hunt's
critically-acclaimed EP, "How Christmas Feels To
Me." It is available for download on iTunes,
Amazon, CD Baby and www.luannehunt.com. http//ww
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