Bits & Bobs: Early 2026

We’re scarcely into the new year, and the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions already have new treats for fans of vinyl variants.

This Friday, January 16, will see the release of two new versions of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.

 

The first, a Record Store Day Indie exclusive shown at left, is a heart-shaped 45 RPM disc packaged in a Valentines Day card invitation. It can be pre-ordered here.

 

The track list is (of necessity) an abbreviated sampling of the full 2024 album:

 

SIDE A

“Heartburn Waltz”

“Paw Pet Overture”

“Heartburn Waltz (4th Reprise)

“Freddie’s Mood”

“Never Again”

 

SIDE B

“Charlie Brown’s Wake-Up”

“Woodstock’s Revenge”

“Jennie L.”

“There’s Been a Change”

“Heartburn Waltz (8th Reprise)”

The second, a Barnes & Noble exclusive, is a standard double-sided picture disc with the full score and bonus tracks (details of which can be read in this earlier post).

 

It can be pre-ordered here.

 

Unrequited love continues to be quite sweet!

 

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Guaraldi began his professional career in 1951, which makes 2026 the 75th anniversary of his initial — and still expanding — impact on the world. (February 6 also will be the 50th anniversary of his passing.)

By way of honoring this milestone, Sean Mendelson just posted this nifty video montage of Guaraldi and his career. Check it out!

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Last year’s 75th anniversary of Peanuts — and the 60th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas — prompted an impressive level of media attention (along with a jaw-dropping variety of new merchandise, clothing, collectibles and all manner of other products).

 

I enjoyed my own 15 minutes of fame during the final two months of 2025, mostly as the go-to “Guaraldi guy” sought by varied publications and news outlets. It was a heady rush, particularly since several of the interviews occurred within days of each other (although the results weren’t published or broadcast until a bit later).

 

First up was a free-wheeling (almost) hour as the guest on Episode 5, Series 3, of the You Don’t Know Peanuts Podcast, co-hosted by Melissa Menta and Damian Holbrook, which debuted November 6. I had a lot of fun with that one, because Melissa and Damian allowed me to share the never-before-revealed details behind how I came to possess my own meticulously researched version of The Complete Peanuts … years before Fantagraphics made that an actual thing (a saga that clearly reveals how crazy — and stubborn — I can be, in pursuit of something).

The final two weeks of December then became a blur. On December 19, I once again spent half an hour as a live, on-air guest on the Morning Show on WCLO “Big Radio” in Janesville, Wisconsin. This has become an annual tradition, since December 2022; Producer Tom Edwards insists that WCLO’s listeners look forward to these yearly chats, so who am I to argue? 

 

Four days later, the December 23 10 p.m. edition of Sacramento Channel 13’s CBS Evening News included a beautifully assembled 3-minute spot devoted to how California’s Capital City played a key role in Guaraldi’s involvement with the Peanuts franchise. The spot’s text introduction is here, and the video is here.

 

The next day, Anna Holmes’ marvelous article about her personal holiday experiences with A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in The Atlantic, no less. I was just one of many folks with whom she chatted: Jason Mendelson; Benjamin Clark, curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum; Sig Sigworth, president of Craft Recordings; and jazz pianists Cyrus Chestnut and David Benoit. The resulting piece is a joy to read; Holmes deftly weaves words, thoughts and emotions together … much the way Guaraldi composed his music.

Finally, a few days after we greeted 2026, Chris Hadley’s article for the January issue of Film Score Monthly debuted. Alas, the one — The Legacy of A Charlie Brown Christmas — is behind a paywall; you’d need to subscribe, in order to read it.

I seriously doubt I’ll ever again enjoy that much time in the media spotlight, but — as the saying goes — it was a lot of fun, while it lasted!