Did you know that A Charlie Brown Christmas is the second jazz album ever to reach Platinum five times? Over 4 million copies of the album have been purchased, and it has been streamed 1.14 billion times. Yet, surprisingly, in 1965, when the Charlie Brown Christmas TV special aired, executives were sure the music was going to flop!
Television producer Lee Mendelson was looking for music for a documentary about Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. He was driving across the Golden Gate Bridge when he heard a song on the radio by San Francisco jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. Mendelson loved the lilting quality of the music and cold-called Guaraldi. A few weeks later, Guaraldi sent him a demo of a new song called “Linus and Lucy,” which has since become the theme for all of Peanuts.
The documentary about Charles M. Schulz never actually aired, but in 1965, Coca-Cola commissioned a Christmas special and Guaraldi was brought back to expand his jazz score. Mendelson and Guaraldi only had a few weeks to get this special together. They wanted the singing to sound unpolished, like a real group of neighborhood children, so they hired a children’s choir from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to sing and rewarded them with ice cream. The kids weren’t professional singers, so their imperfect, slightly off-key, natural delivery gave the album its nostalgic charm.
When CBS executives finally saw the finished special just days before its premiere, they were less than impressed. They thought the jazz score was too “adult” and “sophisticated” for a kids’ cartoon; the pacing too slow and melancholic; and they disliked the fact that actual children were used instead of professional adult actors mimicking kids. One executive is quoted to have said, “we’ll air it once and that’ll be all.”
Surprise, surprise–when the special aired on December 9, 1965, it was a massive hit! Nearly half of the entire American viewing audience tuned in to watch and critics raved about the soundtrack, which became an instant classic. Those executives surely owed Mendelson and Guaraldi an apology! Now for a few songs from the album, including one from Night is Alive . . .
Christmas Time is Here
This tune was originally meant to be instrumental, but television producer Lee Mendelson thought it needed lyrics. He and Guaraldi only had a few weeks to make the soundtrack though and Mendelson couldn’t find a lyricist on such short notice. So, what did he do? He ended up sitting down by himself and wrote the words in about 15 minutes!
Bill Cunliffe Trio – Linus and Lucy
As previously mentioned, “Linus and Lucy” was composed by Vince Guaraldi and became the signature song of the Peanuts. Naturally, over the years, many new renditions of this famous song have been recorded and Night is Alive is no exception. In our lovely album Christmas in the Dog House, the Bill Cunliffe Trio adds some zest, spunk and swing to the holiday staple. Other songs on the album include “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” To learn more, check out Christmas in the Dog House and our many other Christmas albums in our online shop. They make the perfect Christmas gift for your favorite jazz enthusiast!
Check out the Bill Cunliffe Trio’s album “Christmas in the Dog House” and Night is Alive’s other holiday albums at https://nightisalive.com/product-category/christmas/.
written by Jacqueline Knirnschild
