Wynonna’s Alaska Trip Yields Christmas Special

Wynonna performs at the Nightly Concert at The Coliseum on Friday, June 9 in Downtown Nashville during the 2006 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA.

Sept. 30, 2008 — Wynonna made a concert appearance in Alaska in conjunction with the state’s 50th anniversary, and it had a direct impact on her decision to do a holiday TV special. Alaska is, of course, the state closest to the North Pole, but its proximity to Santa’s home base was not the inspiration for the special. Instead, she found her mojo in the audience: about 10,000 troops and their families at the Elmendorf Air Force Base.

"It was such a celebration," she told The Tennessean, "that I really got activated."

The can-do spirit she saw in the military families and their commitment to each other — and to hard work — is something Wynonna wants to impart to her kids, and that’s part of the motivation behind her taping on Oct. 6 of Holiday Notes From Home: A Christmas Tribute For The Troops. The free concert, being taped at the Grand Ole Opry House, will air on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service during the holiday season.

Doing yuletide songs three weeks before Halloween arrives? Not a problem.

"You have to remember, I've been living in a fantasy world for 24 years," she said. "I walked into a studio in June that was decorated for Christmas. It's much like Ashley [Judd]'s acting. She told me, 'Acting is living truthfully in imaginary circumstances.' Whether it's June or January, I'm so available, and you can access me pretty easily in terms of emotion, whether it's a Christmas song or a Judds song."

Wynonna’s mother and former duet partner, Naomi Judd, was on hand at the Alaska concert, where they met Governor Sarah Palin months before the Republican vice-presidential candidate made her way onto the national political stage. No word whether Naomi might make a surprise appearance at the Opry House.