"Alone on Christmas Day" is a song written by

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...

and

Ron Altbach Ronald Steven Altbach (December 24, 1946 – February 21, 2023) was an American keyboardist and songwriter who co-founded French-American rock band King Harvest, and played the Wurlitzer electric piano intro on their single "Dancing in the Moonli ...

for American rock band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. Intended for a potential Christmas album, their 1977 recording was left unreleased. In November 2015, Mike Love rerecorded the song as "(You'll Never Be) Alone on Christmas Day" and released it as a single. The next month, a version by French rock band

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

featuring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

was released.

Background

The song was written by

' co-founder

in collaboration with classical pianist

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,

requested permission to cover the song for

's ''

A Very Murray Christmas ''A Very Murray Christmas'' is a 2015 American Christmas musical comedy film directed by Sofia Coppola and co-written by Bill Murray, Mitch Glazer, and Coppola. The film features an ensemble cast including Bill Murray, George Clooney, Paul ...

''. In response, Love rerecorded the song himself and revised some of the lyrics. The version by Phoenix was then released. Besides Murray, their recording features

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjeeling Limited'' (2 ...

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...

, and

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...

(as Buster Poindexter). Phoenix's version was recorded in September and issued as a digital download and 7" vinyl.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2015 singles Phoenix (band) songs Unreleased songs The Beach Boys bootleg recordings Songs written by Mike Love American Christmas songs The Beach Boys songs 1977 songs Songs about loneliness