I mention first some background information of the song Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight). The Ramones album Brain Drain was released on May 23, 1989. The album ends with unlikely seasonal song Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight), as album was released in May. Anyway Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) was originally released in November 1987 as the B-side of the single I Wanna Live. I Wanna Live was published in Ramones album Halfway To Sanity (1987), so single I Wanna Live / Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) has a song from two different albums.
I Wanna Live and Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) are both written by Dee Dee Ramone and producer-songwriter Daniel Rey.
Dee Dee Ramone does play as the bassist in Brain Drain album but CJ Ramone is featured in a video of Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight). CJ Ramone became Ramones member in August 1989.
This Joey Ramone's Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) release is different than Joey's Christmas Spirit... In My House.
CDEP: JOEY RAMONE'S MERRY CHRISTMAS (I DONT WANT TO FIGHT TONIGHT)
So Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) appears on the
Ramones single I Wanna Live / Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight
Tonight) and album (Brain Drain, 1989) but not appears on the Joey
Ramone's album Don't Worry About Me album (2002), but it is on Joey
Ramone's 7' single and CDEP. CDEP features also a track I Couldn't
Sleep At All. This single came out December 18th, 2001 by
record label Sanctuary. The single is sold-out and they wont be
pressing any more.This Joey Ramone's version of the song is 4.25 minutes long. Song in Ramones album is around one minutes shorter. Mickey Leigh told following in 2001:
- Joey and I started recording Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) after we made the demo of the one used by the Ramones. Often, I helped Joey put his songs on tape as demos, so that he could then play them for the band. We put down the fast version of Merry Christmas... and then we tried a slower, steamier variation and Joey sang this beautiful, really romantic vocal. It's a little different than most Ramones songs, but it's Joey and it is a Christmas song, so we thought it's OK to be a bit sentimental. Completed about two weeks ago (end of August, 2001), I played guitar and bass, and some our old friends: Steve Jordan (from the David Letterman and Blues Brothers band) played drums and Tommy Mandell (Bryan Adams band) on keybords, mention Mickey.
7' SINGLE: JOEY RAMONE'S MERRY CHRISTMAS (I DONT WANT TO FIGHT TONIGHT)
There were released a limited edition Joey Ramone 7' vinyl single that has in both sides song Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) in 2017. This is 7' red vinyl and only 500 copies was pressed.
The A-side is Joey Ramone's alternate arrangement of Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight). The B-side is the previously unheard, unreleased original demo of the song. This is the recording the Ramones listened to the first time they heard the song - made in Joey's apartment on a 4-track cassette recorder. Joey's brother Mickey Leigh tells he is recorded it.
Joey sing on it and Mickey plays guitar on it.
100 % of proceeds were donated to the Red Cross of America. Red Cross are the first and main responders to people in need of food and medical attention resulting from catastrophes occurring around the world.