Phoenix and Bill Murray have released seasonal single ‘Alone On Christmas Day’, a cover of an unreleased Beach Boys outtake from 1977.

The track was recorded to accompany A Very Murray Christmas, a Netflix special Christmas release, which is also available to view from today (December 4).

Sophia Coppola, who directs A Very Murray Christmas, is married to the French band’s vocalist Thomas Mars. Murray has a modest part in the Phoenix single, from which all proceeds will be donated to children’s charity UNICEF.


Listen to ‘Alone on Christmas Day’ via Spotify, below:

Former Letterman musical director Paul Shaffer, and New York Dolls’ David Johansen (who appeared with Murray in 1988 film Scrooged) also feature on the track, Johansen under his Buster Poindexter alias.

In the Netflix special, Murray stars as himself, panicking that none of the guests will be able to make his TV show after New York is hit by an extreme snowstorm. However, through a combination of “luck and perseverance”, the guests eventually join him at the city’s Carlyle Hotel, where “dancing and singing in holiday spirit” ensures.

Guests on the show include Jenny Lewis, George Clooney, Amy Poehler, Michael Cera, Miley Cyrus, Chris Rock, Jason Schwartzman and Maya Rudolph.

