Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus
Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus is an album collaboration between American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi and the San Francisco Boys Chorus released in December 1967. It was Guaraldi's ninth studio album and the first to be released on his D&D record label (the only one during his lifetime), named for the first initials of his two children, David and Dia. Background. Unable to secure new recording contracts with other labels due to an ongoing legal dispute with Fantasy Records dating back to early 1966, Guaraldi opted to create  his own records label, titled D&D Records (named after his children, David and Dia). The debut single, a cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", was backed by a complete version of "Peppermint Patty" which had been featured in the most recent "Peanuts" television special, "You're in Love, Charlie Brown" (1967). The latter song was purposely chosen by Guaraldi, as he understood that the popularity of his "Peanuts" compositions would help sell D&D's inaugural release. Guaraldi then proceeded to record additional tracks for what would become "Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus". A conscious decision was made  to divide the songs evenly between traditional jazz combos and collaborations with the San Francisco Boys Chorus. Due to the great expense of producing and pressing the album, Guaraldi opted to record the album in mono as a cost-saving measure, despite the music industry's ongoing transition to stereo format. Critical reception. Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang noted that the album "has something of an identity crisis; although all eight cuts are presented in the breezy shuffle style that made [Guaraldi] famous, half the tracks employ the San Francisco Boys Chorus for background coloring, while the others are conventional instrumentals  with various quartets." Personnel. Credits adapted from 2005 CD liner notes.