A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)

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)[a]
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][a]

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]

  1. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c 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. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. December 1, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2018.


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