Various Artists, 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Tracks & Durations

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Review

Could the old Peanuts gang's Christmas antics really be hitting the 40-year mark? This well-deserved tribute to one of the most popular holiday TV specials ever features a stellar adult-contemporary lineup that includes Toni Braxton, Norman Brown, Chaka Khan, Dave Koz, the Rippingtons, Vanessa Williams, and others. The unfettered sentimentality that marked the original TV special and the wry wisdom of these enduring characters are captured here and there in an album that manages to reinvent the magic of cartoon characters and the Christmas season, complete with a brief respite of Für Elise and lite jazz style that permeates the overall mix. To celebrate the anniversary, the vocalists and musicians have made what is truly an immediately accessible record that will appeal from kids from 1 to 92. --Martin KellerA Charlie Brown Christmas, an enduring holiday tradition enjoyed by television audiences around the world, this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. To mark the landmark event, Peak Records is releasing 40 Years--A Charlie Brown Christmas, a collection of newly recorded versions of holiday favorites and Vince Guaraldi-penned Peanuts classics, such as the instantly recognizable "Linus and Lucy." The album also includes two Peanuts songs not featured on Vince Guaraldi's multiplatinum-selling A Charlie Brown Christmas, "Red Baron" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

40 Years--A Charlie Brown Christmas showcases the talents of Gerald Albright, Toni Braxton, Norman Brown, Chaka Khan, Dave Koz, Brian McKnight, Eric Marienthal, and the Rippingtons. Also featured is Vanessa Williams on "Just Like Me," a new track written by David Benoit, who both performed on and produced the CD, and Lee Mendelson, longtime producer of the holiday television specials.

40 Years--A Charlie Brown Christmas was the brainchild of five-time GRAMMY-nominated musician, composer, and arranger David Benoit, who has been composing music for Peanuts television specials for over ten years, including the 2000 recording Here's to You, Charlie Brown.

A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted debuted on network television in 1965. Written by Charles M. Schulz, with Bill Melendez directing and Mendelson as executive producer, the show won an Emmy for Oustanding Children's Program, despite initial concerns about the show's leisurely-paced jazz soundtrack, religious theme, and use of children's voices. In December 2004, A Charlie Brown Christmas was named Best Christmas Special by TV Guide and drew an audience of over 13 million viewers, the special's best numbers ever on ABC.

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