The country music star told news that while creating his own work. He was “interested in Frank Sinatra’s version of the classic.”
It was 2005, Ronnie Dunn’s Christmas and country star Ronnie Dunn was recording vocals for the Brooks & Dunn song “Believe” with the help of a full band.
Although the song went on to become a Top 10 hit for the duo and won several CMA Awards. Dunn’s first recording didn’t go as planned.
“I went back to the studio after I cut the song and no one said a word,” Dunn told news with a laugh. “It was like, ‘Well, that’s bad!’ It was time well spent.”
Ever the consummate pro, Dunn, 69, isn’t ready to give up song inspiration just yet.
Song – originally written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine for the 1943 film Meet Me in St. Louis – not included on Brooks & Dunn’s 2002 Christmas album It Won’t Be Christmas Without You. But it has lived in Dunn’s heart for years.
“We listened to different people doing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ just to try and find a direction. And we ended up getting attract to Frank,” said Dunn. Who worked with Brooks & Dunn bandmate Kix Brooks on vocals is Duo of the Year. at the upcoming CMA Awards.
In fact, Dunn’s version of Sinatra reinforces some of the melancholy overtones of the song. Which he says still feels timeless years later.
“I have the syndrome, you know?” Dunn admits his emotional state is self-impose, post-pandemic, and somewhat fragile right now. “You know, we have streaming stats from different parts of the industry, in and out during and in the midst of [the pandemic], and they all show that the audience out there is very much leaning towards familiarity.”