CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE, FROM A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

Music: Vince Guaraldi
Text: Lee Mendelson
Arrangement: Sam Cardon

Though he had already won a Grammy® Award in 1962, American jazz pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi is now known primarily as the composer for the animated Peanuts television specials. The first of these specials was A Charlie Brown Christmas from 1965, which included Guaraldi’s song “Christmas Time Is Here.” It became one of the biggest hits from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and was released in both instrumental and choral versions on the subsequent album.

Sutton Foster’s tender performance here is especially meaningful. As one of her favorite seasonal songs, “Christmas Time Is Here” always takes her back to her own childhood. But this concert marked Foster’s first Christmas as a mother herself, and the childhood joys of Christmas memories took on enhanced significance.