Setting the tone immediately for the beloved Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Christmas Time is Here” by jazz musician Vince Guaraldi has become a staple of the holiday season since audiences first heard it in 1965. Guaraldi had already worked with the Peanuts properties, composing “Linus and Lucy” for an album in 1964 called Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which became the property’s overarching theme song. “Skating” was another original song composed for the special by Guaraldi and the rest of the soundtrack was his jazzy spin on holiday staples like “What Child is This”, “O Tannenbaum” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. The special and the soundtrack album were massive hits when they first debuted and have remained popular for almost 60 years, with the special currently available to stream on Apple TV+. In 2021, the album hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 200, making it the first jazz album to ever chart outside of specialized charts and ranking alongside the likes of Taylor Swift and Eminem. You can listen to “Christmas Time is Here” (as if you haven’t already this season) below.
