This week's Reminiscings of Youth will be an appropriately seasonal one, and it has to do with a soundtrack for a cartoon that is almost as old as I am and is probably much more beloved. In fact, for anyone who wants that Normal Rockwell Christmas feeling in the house over the Holidays, it wouldn't hurt to have this playing on the stereo.
Of course, the cartoon that I'm talking about is the December 1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the 30-minute special which has become a Holiday tradition on TV. Of course, in the early years when I saw this, I didn't understand any of the religious significance or the surprising personality quirks among the characters. However, as I grew older and got to understand why Charles M. Schulz created "Peanuts", I got to notice and appreciate the simplicity, the angst, the poignancy and the message that were all put out there.
A couple of years ago, during the nadir created by the pandemic, I wrote about the main theme for "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi & Lee Mendelson, a lovely and solemn Xmas song (perhaps reflecting Charlie's state of mind) performed by choristers from St. Paul's Episcopal Church, according to Wikipedia. Well, in the time since then, I figured that it's time to shine a light on some of the other wonderful tracks on the soundtrack because they have also made their mark on a lot of Peanuts fans' memories.
It's ironic then that despite watching the special and listening to the Vince Guaraldi Trio's songs there, I wouldn't get the actual album on CD until I was living in Japan. But then again, that was the time when jazz finally grabbed me through artists such as Bill Evans, Diana Krall and Miles Davis. Of course, listening to Evans, especially his trademark "Waltz for Debby", reminded me of that Peanuts music created by Guaraldi and so it wasn't too far down the line before I finally got "A Charlie Brown Christmas".
Allow me then to highlight some of my favourite tracks.
"O Tannebaum" is a gently swinging version of the classic Xmas song. It's amazing how splendidly the tracks were paired with the particular scenes in "A Charlie Brown Christmas", so I remember clearly that Chuck and Linus were shopping for that Christmas tree when Guaraldi's "O Tannebaum" was playing. Listening to the trio go at it here, I simply thought it must have been amazing and maybe terrifying when the decision was made to bring West Coast jazz to a cartoon filled with little kids. But it worked and now I believe that Christmas and jazz go together like bread and butter.
"Linus and Lucy" was and is the song that I will always associate "Peanuts" with. In fact as a kid, I had thought that this was specifically Charlie Brown's theme for years until I got the news that it was titled as such. Of course, the big dance scene is also engraved into my memories and it pops out whenever this Guaraldi jazz boogie comes to mind. Personally, I think the boy in orange deserves the award for Best Dancer. I also think that the dance scene is so iconic, I wouldn't be surprised if there were videos out there with real people trying to perform those dances whenever "Linus and Lucy" comes on at a party.
"Skating" is another Guaraldi/Peanuts representative that I had loved for years before finally finding out what the title was. It's a joyful number that truly and melodically features what a day at the skating rink is like. Folks from 8 to 88 are skimming smoothly over the ice as "Skating" is playing and they're enjoying the simple straight lines and graceful curves; no need for Lutzs or Salchows here.
Along with "O Tannebaum", I was surprised to realize that almost half the soundtrack consists of the Vince Guaraldi Trio's covers of established Xmas classics. Another one is "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" that ends the show and can cause quite a bit of lachrymal flow under the right mood. The Robert Merrill version of the song is truly epic and stirring in its own way but the one used in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is much quieter but no less triumphant.
"Christmas is Coming" had its debut on "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to start off the dance scene before it got taken over by "Linus and Lucy". Before knowing the title, I'd thought that it didn't really have anything to do with the Holidays, but come to think of it now, there is that big feeling of expectation and excitement imbued into Guaraldi's melody about the impending arrival of Santa Claus and December 25th. Aside from its place in the special, the song could also be an ideal accompaniment during all that cooking and decorating around the house before the big turkey dinner.
I've got one more track here that I'd like to mention. Not only was Beethoven's "Für Elise" as performed on the special the first time that I got to see the serious Schroeder on his toy piano, it was the first time that I'd heard the composition by one of the great masters. Since then, I have heard "Für Elise" in various forms including a cover by either Pink Lady or Candies in Japan. However as they say, it's always the first one.
For this ROY then, let's find out who won some of the Japan Record Awards in 1965.
Grand Prize: Hibari Misora -- Yawara (柔）
Best Composer Award: Chieko Baisho -- Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni （さよならはダンスの後に）
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