Franklin resident and SiriusXM’s The Highway host Storme Warren had a crazy idea last Christmas, and songwriter and producer David Fanning has helped bring it to life.
SiriusXM listeners are entranced by the story of “Russell the Grey and White Guinea (Pig),” so much so the novelty song has become much more than a novelty, climbing the iTunes Country and Holidays charts.
“The response from The Highway audience has been overwhelming,” said Warren.
The two first began working together in 2013 when Warren asked for a straight-up country cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Drink You Away” from his 20/20 Experience. The Thompson Square and Parmalee producer’s version delighted Timberlake, who heard it during a studio visit and went on to sell 200,000+ copies.
“This experiment proved that David and I have a similar approach to the creative process – no rules, no obstacles, don’t wait, just do it,” Warren said. “It may not work, but you won’t know until you try. Since then we have written a few songs, collaborated on other crazy projects and have developed a friendship and a creative partnership.”
And that partnership has led to a new Christmas classic. “Russell the Grey and White Guinea (Pig)” was born last December when Fanning was scheduled to perform his new single and Christmas song on the show. Warren, in typical fashion, called Fanning up the night before and issued a challenge – write a song about how his family’s new pet saved Christmas.
Fanning was more than game and showed up the next morning with an acoustic version of “Russell” that tells the story of how the rodent uses his smarts (and teeth) to help Santa Claus on his way.
“I never know what to expect when Storme calls,” shares Fanning. “It’s the night before I’m going on the show and he asks me to write a song about ‘a Guinea pig named Russell.’ Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would go over as well as it has.”
The response was overwhelming. So much so that after Warren began to receive requests as the holiday approached this year, he decided to challenge Fanning to advance the song and record a studio version. Two days later Fanning invited Warren and his children and their friends to sing and record dialogue on the track, and two days after that the song was on SiriusXM, immediately appearing on the iTunes charts.
Warren will continue to grow the story of Russell with plans to create a video, book, plush animal, and sequels for next Christmas and other holidays. Warren and Fanning are also honoring the spirit in which the song was created—the season of giving – and are dedicating a portion of the proceeds to the programs at Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Music & Entertainment.
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