Silicon Valley -- Following the success of Luanne Hunt and Steven Bankey’s No. 1 single, “Lighting In A Bottle,” Star 1 Records re-releases Hunt’s popular holiday song, “Christmas Without You,”

(a.k.a. “Patsy Cline’s Lost Christmas Song”) through Universal Music’s worldwide distribution channels.

The tune, which was recorded by Hunt in 2008 and included on the singer’s “How Christmas Feels to Me” CD, recently landed on Dagens Nyheter’s (Sweden’s largest daily newspaper) list of Top 25 Christmas Songs of All-Time. It also has been featured on popular social media sites, such as Universal Music’s UDiscover Music, Country Rebel and Country Music Nation.

"Luanne continues to impress with her interpretation of this beautifully written song,” said Laura Patterson, owner of Star 1 Records. “It's easy to see how it has become a favorite Christmas classic and we are honored to re-release it worldwide on Star 1 Records." “Christmas Without You” was originally written for the late, legendary country singer Patsy Cline by Lawton Jiles and Charles (Buster) Beam in 1960.

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 on Patsy’s request 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.” Along with its Dagens Nyheter honor, “Christmas Without You” has racked up a number of other impressive accolades, including topping the European Country Music Association chart in France, Denmark and Austria in December of 2011.

It also was the second most played song in Europe that month and has frequently made the Top 10 list on Sounds of Christmas radio. In 2015, the popular U.S. magazines, Autostraddle and Truckers News, named the song among it’s top holiday songs of the year. “Luanne has done great justice to ‘Christmas Without You,’” said Sleeping Bag Studios. “Thanks to the timeless writing, gorgeous sound in the music and Luanne’s endlessly sweet sincerity, I’m pretty sure we’ll all end up feeling the same way about this effort and be glad she took the time to save this tune and give it the life it deserves.” “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).

I’ll never forget the day I recorded Patsy’s Lost Christmas song,”

 

said Hunt, who has scored numerous, No. 1 hits on country charts around the world. “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.” For more information about Hunt, visit www.luannehunt.com.