A Charlie Brown Christmas is the eighth studio album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Released in early December 1965 by Fantasy Records, it coincided with the television debut of the Christmas special of the same name. Guaraldi was initially contacted by producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary about the Peanuts comic strip and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although that special went unaired, the music was released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. In 1965, Coca-Cola commissioned a Christmas special based on Peanuts, prompting Guaraldi to return to score the new project.