Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas (2LP, deluxe edition, 13 outtakes) [CRAFT]

Why you'll love it

This deluxe 2LP set pairs a new stereo mix of the album with 13 outtakes from the sessions, on 180g vinyl in a gatefold jacket. It's in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Deluxe edition
• 13 session outtakes
• New stereo mix
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

It began with a documentary about Peanuts that never aired. Producer Lee Mendelson had hired San Francisco pianist Vince Guaraldi to score it, and when Coca-Cola commissioned a Charlie Brown Christmas special in 1965, Guaraldi was brought back to write the music for a half-hour cartoon special.

He wrote most of it himself and folded in carols like "O Tannenbaum" and "What Child Is This," recording in Glendale with bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli. Parts were redone at Fantasy's San Francisco studio with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael for "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing." "Linus And Lucy" is the one everybody hums, and "Skating" sparkles like fresh ice. The outtakes let you hear the trio working it out, take by take.

In 2026 it was certified six times platinum in the United States, making it the best-selling jazz album of all time. The choir sessions ran late into the night and the children were paid in ice cream, which remains the best contract anyone in the music business has ever signed.

Also at Kops: more Vince Guaraldi on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Fantasy / Craft (cat# CR00444), a reissue of the 1965 soundtrack.