Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen
PRX
4.6 • 675 Ratings
🗓️ 12 December 2016
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nothing takes the edge off the holidays quite like the soundtrack to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi. The jazz musician and composer always wanted to write a standard. And since the “Peanuts” holiday special first aired in 1965, its score has become one of the most recognizable jazz recordings of all time.
In 2012 “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was chosen for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Its story is told by Jean Schulz, the widow of “Peanuts” creator, Charles M. Schulz; Jerry Granelli, the drummer who played with Guaraldi; and Lee Mendelson, the producer who worked closely with Schulz on the Christmas special.
(Originally aired December 14, 2012)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From PRX. |
| 0:06.4 | Studio 360. |
| 0:12.6 | A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the pieces of ritualized pop cultural Christmas cheer that I actually welcome every year. |
| 0:27.3 | I was in fifth grade when it came out in 1965 and a huge Peanuts fan. |
| 0:33.4 | I read it every day in the comics page of the newspaper. |
| 0:37.4 | I bought the paperback anthologies. |
| 0:40.3 | And that score of a Charlie Brown Christmas still has this uncanny ability to transport me right back to childhood. |
| 0:52.9 | It's strange but true, I think, that this score for a kid's cartoon is the most well-known jazz album of all time. |
| 1:03.6 | And today, we've got the story of how it all came together. |
| 1:07.5 | Our director will be here any minute and we'll start rehearsal. |
| 1:11.2 | Director, what director? |
| 1:13.2 | My name is Lee Mendelssohn. |
| 1:14.5 | I'm a writer-producer director of network television specials, and I first met Vince |
| 1:19.0 | Garaleigh back in 1963. |
| 1:21.1 | Oh, no, we're doomed. |
| 1:23.2 | My name is Jerry Grunelli. |
| 1:24.3 | I was a drummer on the Charlie Brown Christmas record. |
| 1:27.2 | This will be the worst Christmas play ever. |
| 1:29.7 | This is Gene Schultz, the widow of Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. |
| 1:34.8 | Okay, Mr. Director, the cast is set. Take over. |
| 1:40.9 | In 1963, I was doing a documentary on Charles Schultz and the Charlie Brown characters, |
| 1:48.3 | and I was driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, and I was trying to figure out what kind of music would fit a documentary. |
... |
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