[ Past ] Classic Album Sundays Stafford presents ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ The Vince Guaraldi Trio

A Charlie Brown Christmas features several originals (“Christmas Time Is Here”, “Linus and Lucy”) as well as covers of well-known Christmas songs (“The Christmas Song”, “O Tannenbaum”). The score for the special was largely cut at recording sessions at Glendale, California’s Whitney Studio. Much of this material was re-recorded by Guaraldi at three sessions later in the year at Fantasy Recording Studios in San Francisco, alongside a choir of children culled from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in nearby San Rafael. The sessions ran late into the night, with the children rewarded with ice cream afterwards. Bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli have been credited as performing on the album, although a host of musicians claim to have recorded the album.

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Released a week prior to the broadcast premiere of the special, A Charlie Brown Christmas sold well, and became increasingly famous in the ensuing decades.

The album is available to buy here.