If it sounds like an unlikely musical duo, you’re right – but the pairing somehow seems fitting for Netflix’s zany new holiday special, A Very Murray Christmas, out today (December 4th). French band Phoenix and actor and comedian Bill Murray team up to pay homage to classic variety shows with a cover of “Alone On Christmas Day,” a long-lost Beach Boys track from 1979 that was never formally released.
Thomas Mars croons atop sleigh bells and synths about inevitable holiday season sadness in a bittersweet rendition that also features actor Jason Schwartzman, former Late Show musical director Paul Shaffer, and New York Dolls’ David Johansen.
The hour-long musical comedy A Very Murray Christmas, directed by Sofia Coppola, is an homage to the television of yore – an old-fashioned variety show filled with singing, dancing and all manner of famous guests, including Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, George Clooney and Miley Cyrus, among others. (See trailer below.) Inspired by Phoenix’s request to cover his decades-old song, Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love released a new version of “Alone On Christmas Day” himself last month, with the help of co-writer and classical pianist Ron Altbach.
Fans can purchase “Alone On Christmas Day” digitally or as a limited edition seven-inch via independent record stores or via iTunes. All profits from the song will go to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
