Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits [LP]

Personnel: Vince Guaraldi (piano); Eddie Duran, John Gray (guitar); Tom Harrell, John Copolla, Frank Snow, Emanuel Klein (trumpet); Chuck Bennett (trombone); Seward McCain, Pat Firth, Monty Budwig, Fred Marshall (bass); Glen Cronkite, Lee Charlton, John Pompeo, Jerry Granelli, Mike Clark, Colin Bailey (drums); Bill Fitch (congas); Benny Velarde (timbales).
Additional personnel: Glenn Mendelson's sixth-grade class (vocals).
Tracks 7,8 and 12 originally released on Fantasy (8430); Tracks 13-14 originally released on fantasy (8431). Includes liner notes by Larry Kelp.
For fans of the innumerable Charlie Brown/Peanuts television specials, Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits is a true goldmine, providing an album's worth of previously unreleased material by pianist Vince Guaraldi, written and recorded for various specials over the years. Brand new, yet instantly familiar, Guaraldi's effortless combination of childlike speech patterns melded with jazz rhythms makes for a style of music uniquely his and his alone. Highlights include two vocals from a group consisting of sixth grade students ("Oh, Good Grief" and version one of "Christmas Time Is Here"), "Linus and Lucy," "Heartburn Waltz," "Camptown Races," "Thanksgiving Theme," "Charlie Brown Theme," "Joe Cool," and yes, "Surfin' Snoopy." A great addition to his other work in the series. ~ Cub Koda