A Charlie Brown Christmas is the eighth studio album by the American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (later credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio). Released by Fantasy Records in December1965, the album coincided with the debut of the television special A Charlie Brown Christmas featuring the Peanuts comic characters.
Guaraldi was contacted by the television producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary on Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although the documentary went unaired, selections of the music were released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. The Coca-Cola Company commissioned a Peanuts Christmas special 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". In 2022, it was certified five times platinum for sales of 5 million copies.
Background
By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts had become a sensation worldwide. Television producer Lee Mendelson, a fan of jazz, heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", composed by the jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, and contacted him to produce music for a Peanuts documentary, A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Guaraldi created the piece "Linus and Lucy" to serve as the theme. Despite the popularity of the strip and acclaim from advertisers, television networks were not interested in the special and it went unaired.
In April 1965, Time featured Peanuts on its cover, highlighting its cultural impact.
Recording and production
thumb|Guaraldi (left), Fred Marshall (center), and [[Jerry Granelli (right) performing as the Vince Guaraldi Trio in 1963. This trio recorded the soundtrack album for A Charlie Brown Christmas, including the television version of "Linus and Lucy".]]
A Charlie Brown Christmas was recorded in six sessions over six weeks, from September17 to October28, 1965. These sessions were characterized by blown takes, cross-chatter, and experimentation as Guaraldi and his musicians worked to perfect each track. Drummers and bassists were rotated frequently, contributing to the challenge of identifying which musicians were responsible for particular tracks. Despite Guaraldi's habit of not keeping detailed records of his session players, it has been established that bassists Monty Budwig and Fred Marshall, along with drummers Colin Bailey and Jerry Granelli, were involved in various recording stages.
The recording of "Skating" showcased the scrupulous nature of Guaraldi's jazz compositions. The trio experienced difficulties in the initial session, particularly with the syncopation and characteristic keyboard "cascade effect." Several takes were needed to refine the structure and feel of the piece, with Guaraldi eventually guiding the group to the final version after numerous attempts. The take (#3, Take 7), noted for its subtle energy, was included in the soundtrack with a fade-out to conclude the track. This choir, under the direction of Barry Mineah, had previously collaborated with Guaraldi during his 1965 jazz mass performance at Grace Cathedral. The choir's role in the special, which included performances of "Christmas Time Is Here" and Felix Mendelssohn's "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", was integral to the authenticity of the Peanuts universe. Recording the track for the Christmas special and subsequent album posed unique challenges, with the trio making several attempts to capture the lively energy of the piece. During the first session, Guaraldi and his group encountered rhythm disruptions and issues with the keyboard bridge, resulting in multiple abandoned takes. However, by the end of the session, they produced a version that, while not perfect, showed promise. In a subsequent session, they refined the arrangement, eventually producing the final take used on the soundtrack. The bright, bossa nova-inflected track showcases Guaraldi's ability to balance jazz improvisation with the structured demands of an animated special.
Reception and legacy
Commercial performance
On May 10, 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quintuple platinum for sales of 5 million copies,
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. 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. 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.
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. It was also the ninth best-selling album of 2013. On November 18, 2021, it was ranked as the No. 1 Greatest Holiday 200 album of All Time by Billboard. The American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann cited A Charlie Brown Christmas as an influence on her 2006 Christmas album One More Drifter in the Snow, saying it captured the "mellow and sometimes sad mood" of the holiday season.
Critical reception
AllMusic reviewer Shawn M. Haney called it "joyous and festive meditation for the holiday season"
The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas has been considered "one of the most beloved holiday albums recorded."
A Charlie Brown Christmas was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.
Reissues
The album was reissued on compact disc in 1986 with a new mastering by George Horn. In 1988, a 12th track entitled "Greensleeves" was added to the CD and would remain in the album’s standard track lineup until the 2022 reissue.
In 2006 the album faced controversy as several tracks were replaced with alternate and extended versions during its remastering. "Linus and Lucy" remained a notable example as it was replaced with its 1965 TV performance rather than the album performance previously issued on the 1964 album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. In addition, several previously unreleased alternate takes were also included and identified as such.
Due to the controversy, Fantasy Records would quickly replace the album with a reversion to the original album’s mastering and track order, with a disc replacement program extending into March 2007.
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).