A Charlie Brown Christmas FULL ALBUM - 1965 Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. His compositions for this series included their signature melody " Linus and Lucy " and the holiday standard " Christmas Time Is Here ." Guaraldi is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader 's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. Guaraldi's 1962 composition " Cast Your Fate to the Wind " became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition . He died of a heart attack on February 6, 1976, at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California . - more at Wikipedia
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated, television special which was commissioned and sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company , was written over a period of several weeks and produced on a small budget in six months. In casting the characters, the producers took an unconventional route, hiring child actors. The program's soundtrack was similarly unorthodox, featuring a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. Its lack of a laugh track (a staple in US television animation in this period), in addition to its tone, pacing, music and animation, led both the producers and the network to predict the project would be a disaster. However, contrary to their collective apprehension, A Charlie Brown Christmas received high ratings and acclaim from critics. It received an Emmy and a Peabody Award and became an annual presentation in the United States, airing on broadcast television during the Christmas season for 56 years before becoming exclusively available on Apple TV+ streaming service . Its success paved the way for a series of Peanuts television specials and films. Its jazz soundtrack achieved commercial success, selling five million copies in the US.