Definitive Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack Coming to Vinyl With Previously Unreleased Music

The animated A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a holiday staple for decades, beloved not only for its charming storyline and adorable characters, but also for its delightful music from the Vince Guaraldi Trio. While the majestic music has been released in various formats over the years, an upcoming release from Craft Recordings is the most comprehensive yet, as it will feature a number of never-before-heard tracks from earlier on in the recording process, with the new release coming in a variety of formats and limited-edition packages. You can pre-order a copy today before the various vinyl and CD versions are unveiled in the coming months.

Per press release, “Craft Recordings proudly announces a definitive, bonus-filled edition of Vince Guaraldi’s timeless score from the beloved, 1965 animated PEANUTS special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, from Charles Schulz and Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez. While the album has remained a holiday staple for nearly 60 years (not to mention the best-selling jazz album of all time, alongside Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, after earning 5x platinum certification by the RIAA in May), this latest edition showcases Guaraldi’s creative process like never before, thanks to hours of newly unearthed session tapes from Fantasy Records’ vaults. Now, fans can experience cues like ‘Christmas Time Is Here,’ ‘O Tannenbaum,’ and ‘Skating’ as they take shape in the studio through dozens of previously unreleased alternate tracks.

“In addition, the original 11-track album has been upgraded with a new stereo mix from the original two- and three-track sources by the GRAMMY Award-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore. Both the new mix and original mix can be found along with hours of unreleased material on the Super Deluxe Edition (available as a 4-CD/1-Blu-ray Audio collection box set or as an 80-track digital release). The new stereo mix will also be available alongside a selection of thirteen studio outtakes on a Deluxe Edition 2-LP or CD. All formats featuring the new stereo mix will release on October 14th. Fans can preview this stunning new mix with the advance single ‘Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental),’ which is available to stream/download today.

“For those who prefer the classic mix, the perennial 1965 version of the album will come housed in a striking, embossed gold foil jacket for 2022, while a variety of collectible colored vinyl variants can be found exclusively at select retailers. Plus, a limited-edition LP (750 copies), pressed on ‘Skating Pond’ wax, is available exclusively at CraftRecordings.com. All gold foil versions will go on sale on September 16th.

“The Super Deluxe Edition offers fans an unparalleled deep dive into all aspects of A Charlie Brown Christmas — placing listeners in the studio as the musicians work through their arrangements. Disc one features the new stereo mix of the album, plus the original remastered 1965 mix, while disc two through four offer more than 50 never-before-heard outtakes from five recording sessions, as Guaraldi and his bandmates craft cues like ‘Christmas Is Coming’ and ‘Skating.’ Disc five delivers the new stereo mix in hi-resolution audio, as well as Dolby Atmos on Blu-ray audio.

“Housed in a hardcover book, the collection guides fans through the entire recording process, thanks to new, in-depth liner notes by Derrick Bang — a PEANUTS historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (McFarland & Company). Rounding out the package is a special message from the family of Lee Mendelson, the late Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer and co-creator of the PEANUTS animated specials. Condensed liner notes are also included in the CD and 2-LP Deluxe Editions, which feature the 2022 stereo mix of the album, plus 13 highlights from the outtakes.”

You can pre-order a copy today before the various vinyl and CD versions are unveiled in the coming months.  

Will you be adding this definitive edition of the soundtrack to your collection? Let us know in the comments!