"Alone on Christmas Day" is a song written by Mike Love and Ron Altbach for American rock band the Beach Boys. Intended for a potential Christmas album, their 1977 recording was left unreleased. In November 2015, Love rerecorded the song as "(You'll Never Be) Alone on Christmas Day" and released it as a single.[2] The next month, a version by French rock band Phoenix featuring Bill Murray was released.[3][4]

Background

The song was written by the Beach Boys' co-founder Mike Love in collaboration with classical pianist Ron Altbach for a potential Christmas album. In 1977, a rough mix of the song was recorded by the group and later circulated via bootlegs. In early 2015, Phoenix requested permission to cover the song for Bill Murray's A Very Murray Christmas. In response, Love rerecorded the song himself and revised some of the lyrics.[2] The version by Phoenix was then released. Besides Murray, their recording features Jason Schwartzman, Paul Shaffer, and New York Dolls' David Johansen (as Buster Poindexter).[3] Phoenix's version was recorded in September and issued as a digital download and 7" vinyl.[5]

References