Alone on Christmas Day

"Alone on Christmas Day"
Unreleased song by The Beach Boys
Recorded November 17–22, 1977[1]
Writer Mike Love, Ron Altbach
"Alone on Christmas Day"
Single by Phoenix featuring Bill Murray
B-side "Alone on Christmas Day (Instrumental)"
Released December 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)
Format
Recorded 2015
Length 2:54
Music video
"Alone on Christmas Day" on YouTube

"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

  1. ↑ "Tours & Sessions 1977". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  2. 1 2 Blistein, Jon (November 6, 2015). "Hear Mike Love's Spirited, Bittersweet New Christmas Song". Rolling Stone.
  3. 1 2 Camp, Zoe; Phillips, Amy. "Bill Murray and Phoenix Cover the Beach Boys' "Alone on Christmas Day"". Pitchfork.
  4. ↑ Guardian music (December 4, 2015). "Bill Murray meets Phoenix – hear their festive single Alone on Christmas Day". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ Hillyard, Kim (November 17, 2015). "Bill Murray teams up with Phoenix for Christmas single 'Alone On Christmas Day'". NME.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.