In 1964, one year before A Charlie Brown Christmas brought cartoonist Charles M. Schulz’s PEANUTS to TV screens across America, the Vince Guaraldi Trio breathed life into its beloved characters through a series of now-iconic cues. Originally intended to accompany the ill-fated Schulz documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the music was instead released as an album, Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown, while many of the cues (most notably “Linus and Lucy”) would appear in animated specials over the following decade, as the franchise exploded in popularity.
Now, Craft Recordings celebrates the enduring, 75-year legacy of PEANUTS, with an expanded reissue of Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown. Arriving April 4th on 2-CD and digital platforms in standard and hi-res audio, the collection features 11 never-before-heard outtakes, plus the original album, newly remastered from the original tapes by GRAMMY Award-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore. Completing the package are insightful new liner notes by Derrick Bang, the foremost PEANUTS historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (McFarland & Company), plus essays from producer Lee Mendelson and music journalist Ralph J. Gleason—both of which appeared in the original pressing of the album. Additionally, fans can find highlights of these outtakes on the limited-edition Sky Blue color vinyl LP, Alternative Takes, available exclusively for Record Store Day 2025, on Saturday, April 12.
“It’s fascinating to compare these alternate takes with a given song’s finished arrangement: to hear how a song is crafted, along the way,” writes Derrick Bang. Indeed, fans will gain deeper insight into Guaraldi’s creative process through selections like “Pebble Beach (Take 7),” “Baseball Theme (Take 1),” and two very different versions of “Oh, Good Grief,” in which the pianist embarks on lengthy improvs. Other highlights include two trio arrangements of “Schroeder,” a popular cue which, ultimately, was stripped down to a solo performance by Guaraldi. Perhaps the most anticipated selection, however, is “Linus and Lucy (Studio Test),” an early recording of the instantly recognizable theme, available to stream today.
In the early ’60s, Bay Area jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi was a fast-rising star. A frequent collaborator of vibraphonist Cal Tjader, Guaraldi had broken out on his own just a few years prior, releasing several records as a leader. But it was 1962’s Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus that made the musician a household name. Inspired by the French/Brazilian film Black Orpheus, the album featured both original material and covers from the Academy Award-winning picture, including Guaraldi’s instrumental composition, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” The tune became a breakout hit and earned the artist a GRAMMY Award.
“Cast Your Fate to the Wind” also caught the attention of another emerging Bay Area figure: Peabody Award-winning TV producer, Lee Mendelson. After finding great success with the 1963 Willie Mays documentary, A Man Named Mays, Mendelson was inspired to profile the celebrated cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, creator of the popular PEANUTS comic strip. While Mays might have been one of the era’s greatest baseball players, PEANUTS protagonist Charlie Brown was known for his terrible luck on the field. Thus, came about the project’s title, A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
As the production came together, Mendelson found himself on an exhaustive search for a musician to write the score. Then he caught “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” on the radio. “It was melodic and open, and came in like a breeze off the bay,” he recalled. Weeks later, when Guaraldi (alongside bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey) presented an early version of “Linus and Lucy,” Mendelson was blown away. “I have no idea why, but I knew that song would affect my entire life,” he said, years later. “There’s no doubt in my mind, that if we hadn’t had that score, we wouldn’t have had the franchise we later enjoyed.”
Guaraldi’s sophisticated cues—including the lilting “Oh, Good Grief,” the reflective “Happiness Is,” the lively “Charlie Brown Theme,” and the buoyant “Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)”—added depth to the documentary and to Schulz’s beloved characters, including Charlie Brown, Lucy, Schroeder, Linus, and Snoopy. But, despite Mendelson’s best efforts, the production never made it to the airwaves. The accompanying soundtrack, however, was still on track for a late 1964 release via Fantasy Records.
Featuring original sketches by Schulz and 12 pull-out posters, plus notes by Mendelson and journalist Ralph Gleason, Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown was an impressive—even unprecedented—release for the era. And, while the LP was a strong seller, Bang writes, “Fantasy never enjoyed the promotional ‘bump’ they had expected from a television airing. And consider the historical irony: This must be one of the few times (the only time?) that a record label released a soundtrack album for a film never granted public exposure.”
Just one year later, however, Mendelson and Guaraldi found far better luck with the animated PEANUTS special A Charlie Brown Christmas. While the now-iconic feature has become a yuletide tradition in households across America, its soundtrack remains a holiday classic—returning year after year to the Billboard Top 10, long rivaling Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue as the best-selling jazz album of all time, and—in 2022—earning a 5x Platinum certification by the RIAA. In the wake of A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown was re-issued (to great success) with the abbreviated title in 1972. By then, the growing PEANUTS franchise included multiple spinoffs, including Charlie Brown’s All-Stars! (featuring “Baseball Theme”); It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; and You’re in Love, Charlie Brown.
Vince Guaraldi, meanwhile, would go on to score a total of 15 PEANUTS specials during his lifetime, with 1976’s It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown being his final project. Just hours after completing the recording, the 47-year-old musician died from a sudden heart attack, leaving a palpable gap in the PEANUTS universe. But Guaraldi also left behind an immeasurable legacy. In addition to his prolific catalog, the pianist introduced generations of children to the joys of jazz music with every airing of the PEANUTS specials. Today, more than 60 years after he wrote those first cues for A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Guaraldi’s music continues to inspire and connect with fans of all ages.
Track Listing (CD/Digital):
Disc 1:
1. Oh, Good Grief
2. Pebble Beach
3. Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)
4. Schroeder
5. Charlie Brown Theme
6. Linus and Lucy
7. Blue Charlie Brown
8. Baseball Theme
9. Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair)
Disc 2:
1. Linus and Lucy (Studio Test) *
2. Linus and Lucy (Take 3) *
3. Happiness Theme (Happiness Is) (Take 4) *
4. Pebble Beach (Take 7) *
5. Baseball Theme (Take 1)
6. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1) *
7. Schroeder (Take 3) *
8. Baseball Theme (Take 2) *
9. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1/Later Session) *
10. Schroeder (Take 2) *
11. Blues for Peanuts
12. Charlie Brown Theme (Take 4) *
13. Blue Charlie Brown (Take 1) *
14. Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair) (Take 1)
15. Fly Me to the Moon
16. Autumn Leaves
Track Listing (Record Store Day 2025 Exclusive LP):
Side A:
1. Linus and Lucy (Studio Test) *
2. Linus and Lucy (Take 3) *
3. Happiness Theme (Happiness Is) (Take 4) *
4. Pebble Beach (Take 7) *
5. Baseball Theme (Take 1)
6. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1) *
7. Schroeder (Take 3) *
8. Baseball Theme (Take 2) *
9. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1/Later Session) *
Side B:
1. Schroeder (Take 2) *
2. Blues for Peanuts
3. Charlie Brown Theme (Take 4) *
4. Blue Charlie Brown (Take 1) *
5. Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair) (Take 1)
*previously unreleased
