Las Vegas Weekly

December 16, 2011 · 12:26 PM

Charity holiday song was a mad dash for Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton-Holmes

By John Katsilometes

Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton arrive at the premiere of Menopause the Musical at the Luxor.

Photo: Denise Truscello

Not long ago two members of the Vegas vocal ensemble Fifth Avenue wrote a lovely holiday song. It was to be a duet, warm and cozy. But who would sing this song?

Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton-Holmes fit nicely.

The song, “One More Christmas With You,” is co-written by fine vocalist and Vegas scene-hopper Jerry Jones and his writing partner and Fifth Avenue co-founder, Rob Hyatt.

“I envisioned it as a duet and thought it would be perfect for Clint and Kelly to do,” Jones says.

The song is available at iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon.com for $1.29. It will also be sold in CD form at a cost of $3 each at Holmes’ Christmas shows at Suncoast on Saturday and Sunday night (typical of Holmes’ appearances at the Suncoast, these shows are about sold out).

All proceeds for the single go to Nathan Adelson Hospice, where Holmes’ mother, Audrey, was cared for before her death in October. Getting the single recorded was a mad dash, as Jones came up with the idea the week of Thanksgiving. The tune was written, produced and distributed in that tight time frame.

“The odds of getting this done in time were looking nearly impossible,” Jones says. “So I began scrambling. Rob tailored the arrangement to suit both Clint's and Kelly's vocal range and I began reaching out to the musicians. As producer, I had definite ideas of exactly who I wanted and the sound I was looking for, and every single person said yes without hesitation.”

Performing on the song are a collection of Vegas’ finest musicians: Jeff Neiman (piano-synthesizer), John Wedemeyer (guitar), Phil Wigfall (alto sax), Bob Sachs (acoustic bass) and Mike Mechem (drums). Jones and Hyatt supply background vocals. Toto Zara did the mastering.

“After several late-night recording sessions to accommodate all the various schedules, in just four days, we had a fully recorded, mixed, and mastered piece that we were all extremely proud of,” Jones says.

It’s a very cool song, and will live a lot longer than this holiday season.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.

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