It Won't Be Christmas Without You

It Won't Be Christmas Without You is the first Christmas music album by country group Brooks & Dunn released in 2002. Their first album of Christmas music, it features covers of traditional Christmas songs, as well as several newly written tunes. Four of the album's songs — "Hangin' 'Round the Mistletoe", the title track, "Rockin' Little Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" — received enough airplay to enter the Billboard country music charts, peaking at numbers 47, 41, 57 and 57, respectively.^[1]

It Won't Be Christmas Without You
Studio album by Brooks & Dunn
Released	October 8, 2002
Genre	Country
Length	33:06
Label	Arista Nashville
Producer	Kix Brooks Ronnie Dunn Mark Wright Greg Droman
Brooks & Dunn chronology
Steers & Stripes (2001) It Won't Be Christmas Without You (2002) Red Dirt Road (2003)

The album received a 3 star rating from Allmusic, with an unattributed review praising Brooks & Dunn for "wisely foregoing the drippy, synth-laden production that ruins many contemporary country Christmas albums, instead relying on the neo-honky tonk sound that made the duo famous."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 3:00
2. "Hangin' 'Round the Mistletoe" (Kostas) – 2:41
3. "It Won't Be Christmas Without You" (Steven Busch, Ronnie Dunn, Jerry Lynn Williams) – 3:43
4. "Rockin' Little Christmas" (Deborah Allen, Bruce Channel) – 3:06
5. "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson)– 3:29
6. "Santa's Coming Over to Your House" (Kix Brooks, Don Cook) – 2:32
7. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 2:56
8. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (John Frederick Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 2:24
9. "Who Says There Ain't No Santa" (Brooks, Larry Boone, Paul Nelson) – 3:41
10. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram) – 2:42
11. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 2:46

Personnel

Brooks & Dunn

• Kix Brooks - lead vocals, background vocals
• Ronnie Dunn - lead vocals, background vocals

Additional Musicians

• Deborah Allen - background vocals
• Bekka Bramlett - background vocals
• David Campbell - string arrangements, conductor
• Bruce Channel - background vocals
• Lisa Cochran - background vocals
• Eric Darken - percussion
• Dan Dugmore - steel guitar
• Shannon Forrest - drums
• Paul Franklin - steel guitar
• Barry Green - trombone
• Kenny Greenberg - electric guitar
• Mike Haynes - trumpet
• Aubrey Haynie - fiddle, mandolin
• Jim Horn - baritone saxophone
• B. James Lowry - acoustic guitar
• Brent Mason - electric guitar
• The Nashville String Machine - strings
• Steve Nathan - keyboards, Hammond organ, piano
• Steve Patrick - trumpet
• Michael Rhodes - bass guitar
• Brent Rowan - electric guitar
• John Wesley Ryles - background vocals
• Denis Solee - tenor saxophone
• Harry Stinson - background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position US Billboard 200^[3] 81 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[4] 12 US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)^[5] 7

Year-end charts Chart (2003) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[6] 55

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
2. "It Won't Be Christmas Without You review". Allmusic. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
3. "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
4. "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
5. "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
6. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020.