'A Charlie Brown Christmas' premiering in immersive spatial audio with Dolby Atmos®, exclusively on Apple Music
The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Timeless Score Features Such Beloved Holiday Classics as “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Linus and Lucy,” and “O Tannenbaum”
Bonus-filled Super Deluxe and Expanded Editions of the Album Also Available This Holiday Season on Vinyl, CD and Digital
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Los Angeles, CA (November 1, 2022) – Craft Recordings proudly announces the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas—Vince Guaraldi Trio’s timeless score from the beloved 1965 animated special—in immersive Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. The album, which features such holiday classics as “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Linus and Lucy,” and “O Tannenbaum,” is premiering exclusively on Apple Music today. A Charlie Brown Christmas 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). Now, fans can experience this music like never before.
Apple TV+, meanwhile, is now the exclusive home of the 1965 animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as a wide selection of PEANUTS programming, including many of the classic specials from Mendelson/Melendez Productions. In addition, Apple TV+ is the home of their all-new special Lucy’s School and a fresh season of their original series The Snoopy Show, both produced for Apple TV+ by PEANUTS and WildBrain.
Beginning November 18th, A Charlie Brown Christmas in spatial audio will be available on all compatible digital platforms, while those who prefer a physical copy can find it on the Blu-ray disc contained within the 4-CD/1-Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition. Set for release on December 2nd and housed in a hardcover book, this definitive collection offers fans an unparalleled deep dive into all aspects of the album through more than 50 never-before-heard outtakes and in-depth session notes. In addition, the classic 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 and original mixes can be found on the Super Deluxe Edition (also available as an 80-track digital release). The slimmer Deluxe Edition 2-LP and 1-CD sets each feature the new stereo mix alongside a selection of 13 studio outtakes. The LP version is available now, while the CD can be purchased starting November 4th.
Additionally, the classic mix of the album can be found across several new collectible vinyl editions, including the 2022 Gold Foil Version, which is packaged in a striking, embossed gold foil jacket. A variety of colored vinyl variants can also be found exclusively at select retailers, while a limited-edition pressing (750 copies) on “Skating Pond” wax is available exclusively at CraftRecordings.com.
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Tracklist – 2022 Dolby Atmos Mix:
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
4. Linus & Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental)
6. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
7. Skating
8. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
9. Christmas Is Coming
10. Für Elise
11. The Christmas Song
About A Charlie Brown Christmas:
When A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on December 9, 1965, no one expected just how monumental the half-hour animated special would be. Based on Charles M. Schulz’s immensely popular Peanuts comic strip, the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning special captured nearly half of America’s TV audience that night. It would soon go on to become an essential holiday classic and launch one of the 20th century’s most popular franchises. Helmed by veteran TV producer Lee Mendelson and director Bill Melendez, A Charlie Brown Christmas featured an engaging score by the Bay Area jazz pianist, Vince Guaraldi. A fast-rising star – best known at the time for his GRAMMY®-winning instrumental crossover hit, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” – Guaraldi paired original cues (“Skating,” the instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy” theme, and the Yuletide essential, “Christmas Time Is Here,” among them) with traditional holiday fare (including his spirited takes on “O Tannenbaum,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “What Child Is This?”). Now, more than half a century later, new generations continue to fall in love with the holiday special and its enduring music, while year after year, the album remains one of the top-selling holiday and jazz albums. Remarkably, in 2021, A Charlie Brown Christmas reached its highest spot ever on the Billboard 200, landing at No.6—56 years after its release. Among other honors, the multi-platinum soundtrack has been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame and was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
About Peanuts:
The characters of Peanuts and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, which is 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd., 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by the family of Charles M. Schulz, who first introduced the world to Peanuts in 1950, when the comic strip debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular culture. In addition to enjoying beloved Peanuts shows and specials on Apple TV+, fans of all ages celebrate the Peanuts brand worldwide through thousands of consumer products, as well as amusement park attractions, cultural events, social media, and comic strips available in all formats, from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students.
About Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc.:
The Peanuts Holiday specials, along with the rest of the classic Peanuts television library, were produced (and are jointly controlled with Peanuts Worldwide) by Lee Mendelson Film Productions and the Hollywood animation studio Bill Melendez Productions. Founded by the late Lee Mendelson in 1963, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc., which is also the publisher of the Vince Guaraldi musical catalog, has received 11 Emmy Awards (from 45 nominations) and four Peabody Awards, as well as Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers. Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord Recorded Music. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.
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