The Greatest Vintage Christmas Album

One of my most treasured childhood Christmas presents is a bright red album, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”  Recorded in 1977 by Unified Feature Syndicate, it famously features the whole Peanuts gang set to the music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio.  

The 1977 version differs from others because it includes dialogue from the animated movie special.  It also has a 12 page read-along book with full color illustration so the listener can read/follow along.  In other words, even though it’s an album, you can easily identify which character is speaking, what the character looks like, who they are addressing and the context of their conversation.  (Hint – most conversations include one or more children relentlessly picking on Charlie Brown.  Good grief!)  

The music is very much in the background.   In fact, the Vince Guaraldi Trio isn’t even listed on the front or back album cover.  However, there is no question that the music is sheer perfection, creating the ideal backdrop for the melancholy wintery scenes, beatific dancing, and solemn carols.  

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was the jazz musicians’ 8th studio album.  The soundtrack has been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the National Recording Registry.  It has appeared on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of top 25 greatest Christmas albums of all time, listed at number four.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was the first-ever Peanuts special to appear on television.  Released in 1965, it had already been a successful comic strip penned by Charles M. Schulz for 15 years.  The movie centers around Charlie Brown’s nagging question – what is Christmas all about?  Different characters have different unsatisfying answers, but ultimately, Linus provides the essential religious message.  In the final scene, all of the Peanuts characters come together to zhoosh up Charlie Brown’s sadly sparse Christmas tree, surprising him and exclaiming, “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!”

In my opinion, the 1977 version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” has all of the hallmarks of an outstanding Christmas album.  It provides a strong and immediate emotional connection to the animated characters, the story and the holiday season.  The music is varied and captures a range of scenes and moods.  It appeals to both children and adults.  It has a timeless quality as well.  The 1977 album feels as fresh and relevant today as it did when it appeared under my childhood Christmas tree.   

Of course, my 46-year old album has been much loved, much played, and much abused.  It’s something of a Christmas miracle that I still have it at all, never mind that it can still be played.  The album cover has faded and is well worn all around the edges.  My name was printed on the front by the gift-giver.  The read-along book has come loose from its binding although the pages are all still there.  And you can still see the Peanuts characters prominently gathered in front of a Christmas tree, as well as other clips from the movie special, on the front and back covers.

I haven’t often seen this album “out in the wild,” so to speak, meaning at flea markets, tag sales and antiques stores.  However, the 1977 version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” can be readily found on ebay.  It generally sells for around $30, although at the time of this writing there were several active listings between $40 to $45 dollars (Christmas markup?)  You could also buy an original album on Amazon for $99 which seems pretty steep.  

Of course, if you just want to listen to the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s instrumental music, you can find those albums just about anywhere including Target, Walmart and Amazon, among others, for under $13.  You can also listen to it on Spotify, YouTube music, Apple Music, and the like.  

Whichever version is your favorite and whichever way you choose to listen to it, there can be no question that “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is the perfect vintage Christmas album.

Do you think A Charlie Brown Christmas deserves the accolades it has received?  Do you have a favorite Christmas album from your childhood?  If so, I would love to hear from you!  You can reach out to me on my contact page.

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