Luanne Hunt
Luanne Hunt (born August 4, 1962) is a country music and American folk music singer-songwriter. In December 2015, her track "Christmas Without You" was named as one of the "Best 25 Christmas songs of all-time" by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.[1][2]
Luanne Hunt | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Pennsylvania, United States |
Genres | Country American Folk Bluegrass Gospel |
Instruments | Vocals / Guitar |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | Star Creek Entertainment |
Website | www |
Career
Hunt first gained public recognition as a recording artist in 1995, when her songs began to get frequent air play on KIK FM Radio. In 1996, she performed at the Starfest Country Music Festival at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California, and was subsequently featured at Starfest alongside Tammy Wynette, Billy Ray Cyrus, Toby Keith and Martina McBride.[3]
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Hunt began collaborating with songwriter Lawton Jiles (who wrote six tracks for Patsy Cline).[4] Hunt and Jiles frequently performed together at concert venues throughout Southern California, and also worked closely together on various studio-recording projects. During this time she also performed live on several occasions with American R&B singer and songwriter Nolan Porter. Further collaborations with Porter include co-writing songs for Hunt's original musical, "Dove Lessons," which was staged in Claremont, California, in 1997 and raised over $10,000 for the House of Ruth domestic violence shelter.
In 2003, Hunt relocated from Ontario, California, to Hesperia, California, where she teamed up with country/folk producer Eric Uglum and began recording a series of albums. In 2009, Hunt's song "The Sun’s Coming Up Over Memphis" reached No. 10 on Nashville’s New Music Weekly country chart. "Solace in the Wind" went on to receive worldwide airplay on several terrestrial and Internet radio stations. In 2010, the track reached No. 1 on the European Country Music Association’s chart (Belgium). The same year, it reached No. 37 on the Indie World Country Chart.[5]
Hunt’s single “Christmas Without You” (from her 2008 album “How Christmas Feels to Me”), written by Lawton Jiles and Buster Beam, is a song that was originally commissioned by Patsy Cline in 1960. In 2008, Jiles asked Hunt to re-record the track, and in 2010 it reached No. 15 on Europe's Hotdisc chart. In December 2011, the track topped European Country Music Association’s chart in France, Denmark, and Belgium. The same month it became the second most played song on UK country music radio.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
The same year, her track “Bluer Than the Bluegrass” reached No. 5 on Hotdisc's country music chart. The song also reached No. 17 on the Nashville-based Indie World Chart and in August 2015 was declared one of the chart's fastest-rising singles of the month. Her tracks “Pine and the Dogwood,” “He Was There” and “There is a Fountain (Filled with Blood)” all reached No. 1 on Europe's Hotdisc Christian chart.[12]
Awards
Discography
- “Mood Swings” (1996, Star Creek)
- “Lost in Your Love” (2001, Star Creek)
- “I’m So Happy” (2002, Star Creek)
- “Moving God, Moving Mountains” (2003, Star Creek)
- “Chapters and Verse” (2004, Star Creek)
- “He Was There” (2006, Star Creek)
- “Breaking Through” (2007, Star Creek)
- “How Christmas Feels to Me” (2008, Star Creek)
- “The Singles Sessions” (2009, Star Creek)
- “Most Requested” (2012, Star Creek)
- “Songs from the Valley” (2014, Star Creek)
- “The Greatest Christmas Gift” 2015, Star Creek)
References
- "Top 25 Christmas Songs of All Time". Dagens Nyheter.
- "Hesperia indie recording artist Luanne Hunt achieves worldwide recognition". VDailyPress.
- "Idol's runners-up band together". LA.com.
- "Jiles helps us remember Patsy Cline". DailyPress.
- "Conshohocken Native Has Top 5 Country Hit in Europe". More Than The Curve.
- "Hunt's 'Solace in the Wind' climbs the charts". Hesperia Star.
- "Indie Recording Artist Luanne Hunt Lands On Two "Best Of Holiday Songs" Lists With Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, And Others". Top40Charts.com.
- "Conshohocken Native Has Top 5 Country Hit in Europe". More Than The Curve.
- "Luanne Hunt and Nolan Porter steam up The Coffee Gallery". Michelle Mills.
- "Indie country music star Luanne Hunt's scores a Top 20 hit in the UK with anti-commercialism Christmas song". Ground Report.
- "Chart Reviews". For The Country Record.
- "Luanne Hunt and Nolan Porter steam up The Coffee Gallery". Michelle Mills.
- "2014 Nominees and Finalists". American Songwriting Awards.
- "2015 Nominees and Finalists". American Songwriting Awards.