<P> The special opens and closes with a choir of children, culled from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California, performing "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". One of the singers, Candace Hackett Shively, went on to become an elementary school teacher, and sent a letter of gratitude to Schulz after he announced his retirement in 2000 . In the letter, she recalls recording the choir at Fantasy Studios and going out for ice cream afterwards, while also noting that she tells the story to her grade - schoolers each holiday season . The recording sessions were conducted in late autumn 1965, and were cut in three separate sessions over two weeks . They often ran late into the night, resulting in angry parents, some who forbade their children from returning; consequently, numerous new children were present at each session . The children were directed by Barry Mineah, who demanded perfection from the choir . Mendelson and Guaraldi disagreed, desiring the "kids to sound like kids"; they used a slightly off - key version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in the final cut . Children were paid five dollars for their participation . In addition, the children recorded dialogue for the special's final scene, in which the crowd of kids shout "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!" </P> <P> The soundtrack for the special was recorded during these sessions, with decisions regarding timing and phrasing determined quickly . Guaraldi brought in bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli to record the music, and spent time later re-recording earlier tracks, including covers of "The Christmas Song" and "Greensleeves ." The eventual LP release credited Guaraldi solely, neglecting to mention the other musicians; Guaraldi was notorious for never keeping records of his session players . Nearly three decades later, in an effort to correct the matter, Fantasy surmised that the recordings with Budwig and Bailey were employed in the special, while Marshall and Granelli recorded the album . Despite this, other individuals have come forward claiming to have recorded the special's music: bassists Eugene Firth and Al Obidinksi, and drummers Paul Distel and Benny Barth . Firth and Distil are noted as performers on a studio - session report Guaraldi filed for the American Federation of Musicians . </P> <P> A Charlie Brown Christmas was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, and added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings in 2012 . </P> <P> A Charlie Brown Christmas was completed just ten days shy of its national broadcast premiere . All involved believed the special would be an unmitigated disaster . Melendez first saw the completed animation at a showing in a theater in the days before its premiere, turning to his crew of animators and remarking, "My golly, we've killed it ." Melendez was embarrassed, but one of the animators, Ed Levitt, was more positive regarding the special, telling him it was "the best special (he'll) ever make (...) This show is going to run for a hundred years ." Mendelson was similar in his assumptions of the show's quality, and when he showed the film to network executives in New York, their opinions were also negative . Their complaints included the show's slow pace, the music not fitting, and the animation too simple . "I really believed, if it hadn't been scheduled for the following week, there's no way they were gonna broadcast that show," Mendelson later said . Executives had invited television critic Richard Burgheim of Time to view the special, and debated as to whether showing it to him would be a good idea . His review, printed the following week, was positive, praising the special as unpretentious and writing that "A Charlie Brown Christmas is one children's special this season that bears repeating ." </P>

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