"Christmas Time Is Here" is a popular Christmas standard written by

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

and

Lee Mendelson Leland Maurice Mendelson (March 24, 1933 – December 25, 2019) was an American animation producer and executive producer of many ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Biography Mendelson was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo graduating ...

for the 1965

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television special ''

A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...

'', one of the first animated Christmas specials produced for

network television A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...

in the United States. Two versions were included on the album ''

'': an instrumental version by the Vince Guaraldi Trio and a vocal version by choristers from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...

, who had previously performed with Guaraldi on '' At Grace Cathedral'' (1965).

Background

"Christmas Time Is Here" was composed by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist

to accompany the opening of the 1965 television special ''

''. It was originally written as an instrumental, but producer

decided that the song needed lyrics. Mendelson recalled, "When we looked at the show about a month before it was to go on the air, I said, 'That's such a pretty melody; maybe we should try and find some people to put some lyrics to it. When he was unable to find someone available, he wrote the lyrics himself: The vocals for the song were provided by the children's choir at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

. Guaraldi had previously performed with the ensemble at his May 1965 "jazz mass" performance at Grace Cathedral which was released album '' At Grace Cathedral''. The song has since become a perennial Christmas classic. Drummer Jerry Granelli of the Vince Guaraldi Trio commented, "It's amazing: Vince finally wrote a standard. 'Christmas Time Is Here' has been recorded as a standard, and Vince always wanted to write a standard. So he made it."

Musical composition

The song is a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

composed in

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

with an

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Th ...

. During the "B section", the song tonicizes into the key of

D-flat major D-flat major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. The D-flat major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in w ...

Reception and legacy

"Christmas Time Is Here" remains a popular Christmas song long after its release; as Matt Thompson of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' writes, "If it wasn’t already a standard that first time it was played, it is now the very definition." Erik Adams of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' pointed to the song's juxtaposition of nostalgic lyrics and minor-key composition as a reason for its longevity: "As 'Christmastime Is Here' and the other songs from ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' have been folded into the catalogue of enduring Christmas carols, they’ve continued to stand out by representing a particular strain of wintry melancholy." The song has also charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Holiday 100, reaching number 17 in 2017—over 50 years after its original release. In 2015, Japanese-Australian singer-songwriter Joji sampled the standard in his 2015

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

song " you suck charlie".

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

Cover versions

The first person to record a cover version of the song was jazz guitarist Ron Escheté on the album ''Christmas Impressions'' (1982). David Benoit followed him on the album ''Christmastime'' (1983). They were followed by

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

on ''Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown'' and

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

on '' Home for Christmas'' (both in 1989);

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

on ''

Christmas Songs Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of J ...

'' (1992), then

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

on ''White Christmas'' (1996),

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

on ''

December December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. December's name derives from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in t ...

'' (1998),

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

, and Grover Washington Jr. for '' Breath of Heaven: A Holiday Collection'' (1997) before the turn of the century.

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...

covered the song on her 2005 album ''Christmas Songs''.

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

recorded the song for his 2008 album '' A Swingin' Christmas''. Mark Kozelek did a version on his album Mark Kozelek Sings Christmas Carols in 2014.

Sissel Sissel is a Norwegian female given name, a variant of Cecilia.Har du et helgen-navn ?

also sang the song for an EP of the same name in 2021.

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements wit ...

sang the song as a mash-up with " Pure Imagination" for their 2023 compilation album '' The Greatest Christmas Hits''.

References

{{authority control 1960s jazz standards 1965 singles 1965 songs Compositions by Vince Guaraldi American Christmas songs Ivy (band) songs Peanuts music Jazz standards Jazz compositions Jazz compositions in F major Fantasy Records singles