Record Store Day surprises!

Guaraldi fans are in for quite a treat, when April 12 — Record Store Day — rolls around.

We’re already primed for the upcoming release of It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, as detailed in this earlier post.

But as an additional bonus, the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions have just announced a Record Day exclusive of this album: individually foil-stamped and numbered, on — are you ready for this? — egg-shaped vinyl. To drive folks even crazier, the LPs will come in five different colors ... and they’re “mystery colors.” You won’t know what you’ve got, until you take it home and check it out.

Additional details can be found on the official LMFP press release, and full details about all of the album’s iterations are available on this LMFP master release.

But wait ... there’s more!

The crafty folks at Craft Recordings (sorry, couldn’t resist) have kept this release secret until now: a Record Store Day exclusive version of Guaraldi’s Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

But no; not the 1964 album that we all know and love. 

This LP will feature new and unreleased alternate takes of songs from the original recording sessions!

 

Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown (Alternate Takes) features two alternate versions of “Linus and Lucy,” including an early studio test; outtakes of “Oh, Good Grief”; the charming ode to fellow pianist “Schroeder”; the sweepingly carefree “Baseball Theme,” and more. 

“It’s not a children’s album,” All About Jazz pointed out, “but rather a top-notch series of breezy jazz treatments.”

 

This edition is pressed on sky-blue vinyl, limited to 3,400 copies, and mixed and mastered from the original analog sources by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore. The lacquers were cut by Matthew Lutthans at Cohearent Audio.

 

The track list:

 

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)

No CD or digital release of these tracks has been announced, but — fingers crossed! — we can hope that changes at some point in the future.

This album is one of Craft's seven RSD releases; full details are here.

The complete list of RSD exclusives can be found at the Record Store Day website, which also includes a list of participating stores across the country. But remember: That list never is complete, so it’s best to call your favorite brick-and-mortar record store, in order to reserve or purchase one or both of these albums.

And should it prove necessary, on April 12 ... get in line early! 

Chart action: The 2024 holiday season

After 2023 produced only a single vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, we wondered if the "multiple variants" fad had concluded.

Answer: definitely not.

2024 gave us four variants, as detailed in this earlier post.

And those multiple variants clearly had an impact on sales and chart position. 

The album returned to the Billboard 200 on November 16, entering at #170. The subsequent results: #108 (11/23), #58 (11/30), #29 (12/7), #17 (12/14), #18 (12/21), #12 (12/28) and peaked at #11 (1/4) ... one notch higher than the previous year. It then dropped precipitously to #138 (1/11) and vanished the following week.

It did significantly better in the Jazz Albums chart, debuting at #13 on August 31 (!). The subsequent ride was quite a roller coaster: #15 (9/7), #13 (9/14), #20 (9/21), #18 (9/28), #14 (10/5), #9 (10/12), #7 (10/19 and 10/26), #5 (11/2), #4 (11/9), #3 (11/16), #2 (11/23 and 11/30), #3 (12/7, 12/14, 12/21 and 12/28), #4 (1/4 and 1/11), #7 (1/18), #10 (1/25), #15 (2/1), #17 (2/8), #20 (2/15) and #24 (2/22).

The Traditional Jazz chart was quite similar, starting at #11, also on August 31. The subsequent results: #13 (9/7), #11 (9/14), no appearance on 9/21 (!), #13 (9/28), #12 (10/5), #7 (10/12), #6 (10/19, 10/26 and 11/2), #3 (11/9 and 11/16), #2 (11/23 and 11/30), #3 (12/7, 12/14, 12/21 and 12/28), #4 (1/4 and 1/11), #5 (1/18), #8 (1/25), #12 (2/1), #13 (2/8) and #15 (2/15). It vanished the following week.

Apparently, people continued to purchase the album well past Christmas!

Since it continues to appear in the latter two charts, I'll continue to update this post, if necessary ... so check back occasionally.

Billboard's seasonal Top Holiday Album chart was somewhat frustrating. As expected, A Charlie Brown Christmas did quite well, starting at #3 on November 2, and remaining in the top 10 for the rest of the season: #2 (11/9), #5 (11/16), #4 (11/23 and 11/30), #6 (12/7), #5 (12/14), #6 (12/21), #5 (12/28), #7 (1/4) and #4 (1/11), after which that chart was closed until later this year. Nobody could dislodge Michael Buble from the top spot, and Vince also couldn't beat Nat King Cole!

The news was better, however, in the Hot 100. "Christmas Time Is Here" re-entered the chart at #48, on December 21 ... then rose to #46 the following week, and then #31 on January 4. The latter is an all-time high!

But wait ... there's more!

Thanks to the Lee Mendelson Film Productions' recent release of the soundtrack to Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown on black vinyl and two variants — as detailed in this earlier post — that album also began to chart!

It debuted on the Jazz Albums chart on 2/1, at #9, then dropped to #13 (2/8), #22 (2/15) and then rebounded to #16 (2/22).

It debuted on the Traditional Jazz Albums chart the same day, at #7, then dropped to #11 (2/8). It vanished on 2/15, but then reappeared at #12 on 2/22.

It also debuted on the Top Albums chart that same day, at #48 ... but vanished the following week.

(In case you're wondering, Billboard always dates its charts on the Saturday following each Tuesday's fresh set of statistics.)

As I said above, keep checking back ... because I suspect we aren't done yet! 

Egg-citing news!

Guaraldi’s full score for 1974’s It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown will be available for purchase on on March 21. The album can be pre-ordered on CD or black vinyl at Amazon and the MVD Shop, as well as other online retailers and your favorite brick-and-mortar record store. (As always, it also will be available digitally.)

An "Easter Purple" colored vinyl variant, limited to 2,000 individually numbered BioVinyl copies, is available solely at independent record stores. Check with your local store, to reserve or purchase a copy. Recordstoreday has a list of stores, but the list is incomplete; best to give your preferred store a call, even if it isn't on the list.

As an additional bonus, the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions also announced a Record Day exclusive of this album: individually foil-stamped and numbered, on — are you ready for this? — egg-shaped vinyl. To drive folks even crazier, the LPs will come in five different colors ... and they’re “mystery colors.” You won’t know what you’ve got, until you take it home and check it out.

Additional details about the Record Store Day release can be found on the official LMFP press release, and full details about all of the album’s iterations are available on this LMFP master release.

Three sample tracks can be streamed here, and ordering links for all iterations are here.

During an unusually busy half-year that began in October 1973, Guaraldi scored an unprecedented three Peanuts animated TV specials. His music for It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown — last on a list that began with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown — was completed during three 1974 sessions at San Francisco’s Wally Heider Studios, on January 30, March 1 and April 9. He was joined by Seward McCain, bass, while Glenn Cronkhite and Eliot Zigmund split the chores on drums.

Guaraldi favored electric keyboards on this score, with varied cues that are as larkish as the on-screen action. The title theme is a fleeting little number, and he sprinkles fragments of “Linus and Lucy” and “Peppermint Patty” throughout the show. A shopping sequence is blessed with the show’s longest cue: “Woodstock’s Dream,” a whimsical melody that offers droll counterpoint as the kids travel up and down escalators, while searching this massive store for eggs.

This album features a particularly special bonus track: a medley of "Woodstock" tunes performed nearly 50 years later by pianist David Benoit, alongside original Guaraldi sidemen Seward McCain (bass) and Mike Clark (drums), recorded at the same San Francisco studio — now called Hyde Street — where the Easter Beagle soundtrack originally was recorded. 

The track listing:

1. Peppermint Patty

2. Easter Theme / Easter Theme (Reprise)

3. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3 - I. Allegro con brio

4. Snoopy and Woodstock

5. Linus and Lucy

6. Woodstock's Dream

7. Snoopy’s Gumballs / Sally and Linus

8. Woodstock's Dream (Reprise)

9. Marcie's Song (Kitchen Music)

10. Linus and Lucy (Reprise)

11. Woodstock’s Pad

12. Woodstock’s Dream (2nd Reprise)

13. Music Box Dance (Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116)

14. Woodstock’s Dream (3rd Reprise)

15. Easter Egg Soup (Kitchen Music 2)

16. Linus and Lucy (2nd Reprise) / Linus and Lucy (3rd Reprise)

17. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 - II. Allegreto

18. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 - I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

19. Salting Eggs / Linus and Lucy (4th Reprise)

20. Bonus Track: Woodstock Medley (Woodstock’s Wake-Up / Little Birdie / Woodstock’s Dream / Thanksgiving Theme / Little Birdie (Reprise))