“Christmas Time Is Here” early, with an exclusive Peanuts lyric video

By Erik Adams | November 9, 2020 | 7:00pm

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“Christmas Time Is Here” early, with an exclusive Peanuts lyric video

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As reported last month, Apple has scooped up the rights to the vintage Peanuts TV specials, meaning that 2020 will be the first year since 1965 that Charlie Brown won’t learn what Christmas is all about on broadcast television. But while access to A Charlie Brown Christmas and its follow-ups is a little more restricted than it once was (outside of the days Apple flips over its “The Doctor Is In” sign and streams them for free), there have never been more ways to experience the music of those specials. For example, this new lyric video—an A.V. Club premiere—for the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s immortal “Christmas Time Is Here,” the opening number that first captured the spirit of the season and Charlie Brown’s ambivalence toward it 55 years ago this December.

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It’s a landmark year for Charles Schulz’s preternaturally wise and world-weary characters: October 2 marked the 70th anniversary of Peanuts’ debut in the funny pages. To mark the occasion, Craft Recordings has issued several new vinyl pressings of Guaraldi’s Peanuts scores, including a limited-edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas with a bonus lenticular print of the album cover. It may not be the ultimate tribute a pianist can receive—having their picture on bubblegum cards—but it is a fun addition to some of Guaraldi’s most-beloved and best-known compositions.