A Charlie Brown Christmas
A drawing of some of the Peanuts gang running around a Christmas tree
Original 1965 vinyl release
Soundtrack album by
Vince Guaraldi
ReleasedDecember 1965 (1965-12)[lower-alpha 1]
Recorded
  • October 26, 1964 ("Linus and Lucy")[3]
  • September 17 – October 28, 1965[4][5]
StudioFantasy, San Francisco
Genre
Length34:53
LabelFantasy
Vince Guaraldi chronology
At Grace Cathedral
(1965)		 A Charlie Brown Christmas
(1965)		 Live at El Matador
(1966)
Singles from A Charlie Brown Christmas
Alternate cover
Fantasy 1988/2012 CD release cover art

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the eighth studio album by the American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (later credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio). Coinciding with the television debut of the Christmas special of the same name, the album was released in the first week of December 1965 by Fantasy Records.[1][lower-alpha 1]

Guaraldi was contacted by television producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary on the comic strip Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although the special went unaired, these selections were released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Coca-Cola commissioned a Christmas special based on Peanuts in 1965 and Guaraldi returned to score the special.

Guaraldi composed most of the music, though he included versions of traditional carols such as "O Tannenbaum".[6] He recorded some of the score at Whitney Studio in Glendale, California, then re-recorded some of it at Fantasy Records Studios in San Francisco with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in nearby San Rafael. The sessions ran late into the night, with the children rewarded with ice cream afterward.

Bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli were credited as performing on the album.[6] It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

In 1988, Fantasy Records re-released a CD of the 11 original tracks plus one bonus cut, "Greensleeves." A 16-track remastered edition, featuring "Greensleeves" and alternate takes of four other songs, was released in 2006, followed by a second remaster in 2012.

In 2022, Craft Recordings embarked on a major reissue campaign in a variety of expanded, deluxe editions. These sets feature a new stereo mix completed by Paul Blakemore, the original 1965 stereo mix, and up to 50 previously unreleased outtakes from five separate recording sessions. The three editions are a single LP vinyl edition, comprising the original 1965 stereo release offered in gold foil sleeved with embossing details (released September 22, 2022); two-disc LP vinyl and CD expanded editions, containing the 2022 stereo mix and 13 outtakes from the original recording sessions (released December 2, 2022); and a five-disc super deluxe edition, which adds three CDs of complete Autumn 1965 recording sessions and a Blu-ray audio disc containing high-resolution audio and Dolby Atmos mixes (released December 2, 2022).[8]

On May 10, 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quintuple platinum for sales of 5 million copies.[9] In November 2014, it was the 10th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era.[10]

Background

By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts had become a sensation worldwide.[11] Television producer Lee Mendelson acknowledged the strip's cultural impression and produced a documentary on the subject, titled A Boy Named Charlie Brown.[12] Mendelson, a fan of jazz, heard Vince Guaraldi's song "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio not long after completion of his documentary, and contacted the musician to produce music for the special.[13] Guaraldi composed the music for the project, creating an entire piece, "Linus and Lucy", to serve as the theme.[14] Despite the popularity of the strip and acclaim from advertisers, networks were not interested in the special.[14]

By April 1965, Time featured the Peanuts gang on its magazine cover,[11] and plans for an animated half-hour Peanuts Christmas TV special were commissioned by The Coca-Cola Company.[14] When Coca-Cola commissioned the A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special in spring 1965, Guaraldi returned to write the music, having just recorded the live album At Grace Cathedral at San Francisco's famed cathedral with St. Paul's Church of San Rafael 68-voice choir.[15][11]

Recording and production

The first instrumentals for the special were recorded by Guaraldi at Glendale, California's Whitney Studio with bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey on March 6, 1965.[16] Recycling "Linus and Lucy" from the earlier special and the album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Guaraldi completed two new originals, "Skating", and "Christmas Time Is Here".[16] In the weeks preceding the premiere, Mendelson encountered trouble finding a lyricist for Guaraldi's instrumental intro and wrote "Christmas Time Is Here" in "about 15 minutes" on the back of an envelope.[17]

The special begins and ends with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael performing "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing",.[18] Guaraldi had performed with the choir at his May 1965 "jazz mass" performance at Grace Cathedral (released in September 1965 as At Grace Cathedral).[19] The recording sessions were conducted in late autumn 1965 in three sessions over two weeks. They often ran late into the night, resulting in angry parents, some who forbade their children to return; as a result, numerous new children were present at each session.[20] The children were directed by Barry Mineah, who demanded perfection from the choir. Mendelson and Guaraldi disagreed, wanting "kids to sound like kids"; they used a slightly off-key version of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" in the final cut.[20] Children were paid five dollars for their participation. In addition, the children recorded dialogue for the special's final scene in which the crowd of kids shout "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"[20]

One of the singers, Candace Hackett Shively, became an elementary school teacher and sent a letter of gratitude to Schulz after he announced his retirement in 2000.[18] In the letter, she recalls recording the choir at Fantasy Studios and going out for ice cream afterwards, while noting that she tells the story to her students every holiday season.[21]

Guaraldi brought in bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli and re-recorded tracks such as "The Christmas Song" and "Greensleeves". The album credited Guaraldi solely, neglecting to mention the other musicians; Guaraldi was notorious for never keeping records of his session players.[22] Nearly three decades later, in an effort to correct the matter, Fantasy surmised that the recordings with Budwig and Bailey were employed in the television special while Marshall and Granelli recorded the album.[22] Despite this, other musicians have claimed to have recorded the special's music: bassists Eugene Firth and Al Obidinski and drummers Paul Distel and Benny Barth. Firth and Distil are noted as performers on a studio-session report Guaraldi filed for the American Federation of Musicians.[22]

Not all music featured in the current version of the holiday special was released on the soundtrack. After the inaugural broadcast of the special in December 1965, Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez fitted several scenes with the songs "Charlie Brown Theme," "Happiness Theme" and "Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair)", all lifted from Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. In addition, "Air Music" (aka "Surfin' Snoopy") from the soundtrack of Charlie Brown's All Stars! was inserted in the scene where Snoopy is decorating his doghouse with Christmas ornaments. These four additional songs were not included in the soundtrack release as they were not part of the original show. Additionally, tracks "What Child Is This" and "The Christmas Song" are on this recording, but were not included in the special.[23]

Reception and Legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Pitchfork8.3/10[24]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[25]

Commercial performance

On May 10, 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quintuple platinum for sales of 5 million copies,[9] making it the second-best-selling jazz album in history, behind Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (1959).[26]

A Charlie Brown Christmas first appeared on a Billboard magazine music sales chart on the week of December 19, 1987, when it debuted and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Christmas Albums sales chart.[27] The album charted on the Billboard Christmas Albums chart every Christmas/holiday season from 1988 through 2003, peaking as high as No. 8 in both 2001 and 2002.[27] The album also charted on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart during the Christmas/holiday season every year from 1991 through 2003, peaking as high as No. 6 in 2001.[27]

It became the first jazz soundtrack album to reach the Top 10 outside of a specialty album chart (i.e. Christmas Albums, Top Pop Catalog Albums, Kids Albums) when, in January 2021, it reached No. 10 in the Billboard 200 chart.[28] Derrick Bang, Guaraldi historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, noted the significance of such a "huge" accomplishment, with Guaraldi sharing top spots with Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Eminem.[29]

In November 2014, it was the 10th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era.[10]

A Charlie Brown Christmas was also the 10th best-selling holiday album of 2011, a year that marked the sixth time since 2001 that the album had ranked among the year's top 10 Christmas albums.[30] It was also the ninth best-selling album of 2013.[31]

On November 18, 2021, it was ranked as the No. 1 Greatest Holiday 200 album of All Time by Billboard.[32]

Critical reception

Guaraldi showed how a piano, bass and drums can capture a feeling and character in living color, particularly if those feelings are complex, conflicted or even simply too beautiful for words. It's the kind of realization that, even unconsciously, opens the door for later discoveries in Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Robert Glasper and everything beyond, to say nothing of all the other sounds and ensembles waiting to be heard with jazz at its pulse.

—Chris Barton of the Los Angeles Times, 2012[33]

Allmusic reviewer Shawn M. Haney called it "joyous and festive meditation for the holiday season"[6] writing, "Guaraldi strings together elegant, enticing arrangements that reflect the spirit and mood of Schulz's work."[6] Dominique Leone at Pitchfork called the songs "small, observant miracles...If there's a muted quality to a lot of this music, it's smiling nonetheless."[24]

The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas has been considered "one of the most beloved holiday albums recorded."[33] Chris Barton of the Los Angeles Times asserts that the soundtrack introduced jazz to an entirely new generation, having been heard by more individuals than the work of the genre's most influential players, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane.[33] The score influenced dozens of young aspiring musicians, among them David Benoit[34] and George Winston.[1] Haney wrote that the record "introduce[d] contemporary jazz to youngsters with grace, charm, and creativity."[6] In 2019, it was ranked the fourth greatest Christmas album of all time by Rolling Stone.[35]

A Charlie Brown Christmas was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.[30] In 2012 the album was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[36][37]

Track listing

Original LP release

Side one

  1. "O Tannenbaum" (Ernst Anschütz) – 5:08
  2. "What Child Is This" (William Chatterton Dix) – 2:25
  3. "My Little Drum" (Vince Guaraldi) – 3:12
  4. "Linus and Lucy" (Guaraldi) – 3:06
  5. "Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental)" (Guaraldi) – 6:05

Side two

  1. "Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)" (Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson) – 2:47
  2. "Skating" (Guaraldi) – 2:27
  3. "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (Charles Wesley) – 1:55
  4. "Christmas Is Coming" (Guaraldi) – 3:25
  5. "Für Elise" (Ludwig van Beethoven) – 1:06
  6. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:17

Bonus track – 1988 onwards

  1. "Greensleeves" (traditional) – 5:25

Note: "Greensleeves" is actually the original title of the tune used for "What Child is This".

2006 CD reissue

Original album

  1. "O Tannenbaum"
  2. "What Child Is This"
  3. "My Little Drum"
  4. "Linus and Lucy"
  5. "Christmas Time Is Here" (Instrumental)
  6. "Christmas Time Is Here" (Vocal)
  7. "Skating"
  8. "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing"
  9. "Christmas Is Coming"
  10. "Für Elise"
  11. "The Christmas Song"

Bonus tracks

  1. "Greensleeves"
  2. "Christmas Is Coming" (Alternate Take 1)
  3. "The Christmas Song" (Alternate Take 3)
  4. "Greensleeves" (Alternate Take 6)
  5. "Christmas Time Is Here" (Alternate Vocal Take)

Personnel

Vince Guaraldi Trio

Children's chorus for the songs "Christmas Time Is Here", "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" and when the kids all shout "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" was the Children's choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California. Several months before the making of Charlie Brown Christmas this choir was featured on the recording Vince Guaraldi at Grace Cathedral.

Original production

  • Soul S. Weiss – recording engineer (attributed on the back cover, original album pressing)

Production

  • Ralph J. Gleason – liner notes
  • Derrick Bang – liner notes[37][6]
  • Joel Selvin – liner notes (2006 reissue)
  • George Horn – mastering (1986, 1988, 2006 reissues)
  • Stephen Hart – mixing (2006 reissue)
  • Adam Munoz – mixing (2012 reissue)
  • Joe Tarantino – mastering (2012 reissue)
  • Nick Phillips – reissue producer
  • Joe Tarantino – remastering
  • Paul Blakemore – mixing (2022 reissue)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for A Charlie Brown Christmas
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[76] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Derrick Bang writes the album was released in the first week of December 1965, so as to coincide with the special's television debut,[1] but an advertisement in the November 26 issue of The Sacramento Bee indicates the album may have already been on sale.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bang 2012, p. 190.
  2. ↑ "Tower Records: XMas LP Record Sale". The Sacramento Bee. November 26, 1965. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com. Other top artist XMas LP's by ... Guaraldi's 'Charlie Brown' ...
  3. ↑ Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi Timeline: 1964". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi Timeline: 1965". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ "DEFINITIVE, SUPER DELUXE EDITION OF A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS ANNOUNC…". archive.ph. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haney, Shawn M. "A Charlie Brown Christmas". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. ↑ Sinclair, Paul (August 23, 2022). "Vince Guaraldi/A Charlie Brown Christmas; Expanded Deluxe Editions". archive.li. Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. December 1, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment. 2004.
  12. ↑ Mendelson 2013, p. 11.
  13. ↑ Mendelson 2013, p. 12.
  14. 1 2 3 Mendelson 2013, p. 14.
  15. ↑ "Grace Cathedral Discography". Grace Cathedral. 2015. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  16. 1 2 Bang 2012, p. 176.
  17. ↑ Kiesewetter, John (September 20, 2014). "'A Charlie Brown Christmas' almost didn't get made". archive.li. Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Mendelson 2013, p. 23.
  19. ↑ Bang, Derrick (September 20, 2014). "How Vince Guaraldi Made Charlie Brown Cool". medium.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 Bang 2012, p. 187.
  21. ↑ Mendelson 2013, p. 24.
  22. 1 2 3 Bang 2012, p. 188.
  23. ↑ Bang, Derrick (August 20, 2022). "The ghost of Christmas past". Impressions of Vince. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  24. 1 2 Leone, Dominique (December 13, 2006). "A Charlie Brown Christmas Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  25. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 614. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  26. ↑ Cherise, Constance. "Vince Guaraldi's 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' swaddles with holiday serenity, just like Linus' blanket". manchesterinklink.com. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  27. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 149. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  28. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (December 29, 2020). "'Charlie Brown Christmas' Soundtrack Hits Billboard 200 Top 10 for the First Time". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  29. ↑ Bang, Derrick (December 31, 2020). "Impressions of Vince: Chart success ... after 55 years!". fivecentsplease.org. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  30. 1 2 Grein, Paul (January 4, 2012). "Week Ending Jan. 1, 2012. Albums: She's Back". Yahoo. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  31. ↑ Grein, Paul (January 2, 2014). "The Top 10 Soundtracks of 2013". Yahoo. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  32. ↑ Trust, Gary (November 18, 2021). "Mariah Carey & 'Charlie Brown Christmas' Top Billboard's Greatest of All Time Holiday Charts". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  33. 1 2 3 Barton, Chris (December 19, 2013). "Vince Guaraldi's 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' score is a gift". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  34. ↑ Solomon 2013, p. 49.
  35. ↑ Dolan, Jon (November 30, 2019). "The 25 Greatest Christmas Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  36. ↑ "2011". The Library of Congress. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  37. 1 2 Bang, Derrick (2012). A Charlie Brown Christmas (booklet). Vince Guaraldi. Beverly Hills: Concord Music Group. p. 16.
  38. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  41. 1 2 "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Kid Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Traditional Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Vince Guaraldi Trio Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  50. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  51. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  52. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  54. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  55. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  56. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  57. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  58. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  59. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  60. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  61. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  62. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  63. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  64. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  65. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  66. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  67. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  68. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  69. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  70. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  71. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  72. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  73. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  74. ↑ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  75. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  76. ↑ "American album certifications – Vince Guaraldi – A Charlie Brown Christmas". Recording Industry Association of America.

Sources

  • Bang, Derrick (2012). Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786459025.
  • Mendelson, Lee (2013). A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition. It Books. ISBN 978-0062272140.
  • Solomon, Charles (2013). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1452110912.
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