Mellow yellow!

No surprise; yet another treat has been announced for this, Peanuts' 75th anniversary year.

Seven years ago, almost to the day, Omnivore Recordings announced the release of The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings (encompassing Vince’s three Warner Bros.-Seven Arts albums: Oh, Good Grief!, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and Alma-Ville), as a two-CD set with four previously unreleased bonus tracks; and the classic Oh, Good Grief! album, on translucent red vinyl. Full details are in this earlier post.

Earlier this morning, Omnivore announced a special "Peanuts Anniversary" version of Guaraldi's first Warners album, Oh, Good Grief, on banana yellow vinyl, along with companion versions on CD and black vinyl. All are the re-mastered versions by multiple Grammy Award-winning restoration and mastering guru Michael Graves.

As a bonus, all three variants include my new liner notes, written specifically for this anniversary release, which will hit stores on May 30.

Check out this cool promotional video and Omnivore's press release, and — while you're at it — place an advance order!

********

A few weeks ago, I spent an enjoyable hour chatting with William Pepper, who runs It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown. My episode, No. 139, debuted yesterday; you can find it here. We talked about Peanuts (of course), but with a particular focus on Guaraldi.

William came prepared with good questions, and the resulting discussion was a lot of fun. I hope you all enjoy the listen!

A milestone anniversary

This is Guaraldi-related only to a slight degree ... but an important one.

All sorts of things and events will help mark this year's 75th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts newspaper strip, but Abrams ComicArts likely will take center stage with this lavish coffee table book.

The Essential Peanuts — an opulent hardcover in a slipcase — is assembled by Mark Evanier. It presents the most iconic and essential Peanuts comic strips with fresh historical and cultural context. The book also features an introduction by Patrick McDonnell, a foreword by Jean Schulz, and contributions from 15 notable commentators. The book is designed by Chip Kidd, and includes a portfolio of collectible Peanuts ephemera: postcards, prints, an embroidered patch, stickers and a facsimile of a classic Peanuts comic book.

“Having loved Peanuts since I was about Charlie Brown's age (and no more successful at kite-flying), I was thrilled when Abrams ComicArts asked me to spend weeks reading and writing about the comic strip that was so much more than just a comic strip,” Evanier said. “The only drawback was that I tried writing the book sitting on the roof of a doghouse, but I kept falling off.”

Evanier is the award-winning author of Kirby: King of Comics and MAD Art. A respected writer, historian and editor, he has worked extensively in the worlds of comic books and television, earning a reputation as one of the foremost authorities on comics and animation. Evanier has earned three Emmy Award nominations, and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for animation from the Writers Guild of America.

“As we mark 75 years of Peanuts, this partnership with Abrams ComicArts is a testament to the lasting impact of Schulz’s beloved characters,” noted Craig Herman, vice-president of Global Brand Experiences, and Publishing, at Peanuts Worldwide. “Since being introduced to the world on October 2, 1950, Peanuts has been at the forefront of pop culture, and we can’t wait for fans to discover this extraordinary anniversary edition.”

The Essential Peanuts underscores how and why the comic strip transcends cultural, generational and linguistic barriers to remain relevant and beloved. By exploring Schulz's creative ambition, his wry commentary on childhood struggles and triumphs, and his enduring influence on art, literature and everyday life, Evanier not only celebrates an incomparable legacy, but also reveals the universal appeal at the heart of Peanuts.

The 15 commentators:

• Robb Armstrong

• Rob Boutilier 

• Paige Braddock

• Alberto Brambilla 

• Benjamin L. Clark 

• Ben Folds

• Sarah Gillespie 

• Chip Kidd

• Amy Lago

• Mike Massimino

• Akio Matsunaga

• Jeff Morrow

• Hilary Price

• Shuntaro Tanikawa ...

...and me, thus the Guaraldi connection. My essay discusses how Dr. Funk became involved with Schulz's characters, when Lee Mendelson heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on his car radio at an opportune moment.

Save coffee table space for this one, because you won't want to miss it. The Essential Peanuts will hit bookstores just in time for the actual 75th anniversary, on October 2, 2025. 

Full Impressions!

Following this month's earlier announcement of a Record Day Exclusive edition of the previously unreleased alternate takes from the original recording sessions that produced 1964's Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Craft Recordings has just announced the expanded edition of that classic album, to help celebrate this 75th anniversary year of Peanuts.

Available for pre-order today on two-CD and digital platforms, the newly remastered album includes the aforementioned 11 previously unreleased outtakes, along with the original album's longtime favorite tracks: “Linus and Lucy,” “Baseball Theme,” “Charlie Brown Theme” and many others.

Street date is April 11.

Read the full Craft press release here. Pre-orders can be made here.

The tracks are newly remastered from the original tapes by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore. The package also includes new liner notes by ye humble blogmeister, along with essays from producer Lee Mendelson and music journalist Ralph J. Gleason, both of which appeared in the album's original gatefold pressing.

(It's important to note, however, that Mendelson's notes were dropped when the LP was reissued in a standard, single-sleeve jacket. Re-reading Mendelson's notes today is quite eye-opening!)

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

This year is becoming quite the Guaraldi extravaganza! 

Posthumous public service

It's a frequent trivia question, and one that many otherwise reputable reference books get wrong:

Guaraldi scored 15 Peanuts TV specials (from A Charlie Brown Christmas through It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown), one big-screen film (A Boy Named Charlie Brown) and two half-hour TV documentaries (the unsold A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz).

Few people realize, however, that Guaraldi also had a hand in three more animated Peanuts projects.

Sort of.

Guaraldi's untimely passing in February 1976 left Lee Mendelson in an obvious bind, when it came time to score the next Peanuts TV special, It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Perhaps after considerable soul-searching, Mendelson shifted from jazz to a more pop-oriented sound, teaming former psychedelic rocker Ed Bogas with singer/songwriter Judy Munson. That likely was a shrewd decision; rather than have somebody else try to imitate Guaraldi's distinctive Peanuts sound — which clearly would have been impossible, and perhaps even unwise — Mendelson went in an entirely different direction. Successive Peanuts TV specials remained in that pop realm for the next dozen years.

At the same time, though — shortly after Guaraldi's death — when Charlie Brown and his friends accepted a few outside "moonlighting" assignments, Mendelson instead returned to his Main Man ... which is how Vince scored three Peanuts public-service shorts from the grave.

Well, not exactly ... although it might have seemed that way, to people who weren't paying attention.

Mendelson, animator Bill Melendez and Charles M. Schulz teamed with the American Dental Association to produce a pair of 5-minute shorts: 1977's Tooth Brushing and 1980's It's Dental Flossophy, Charlie Brown. Both films were designed to be shown in schools, as a means of encouraging children (and their parents) to take better care of their teeth. 

Tooth Brushing begins as Charlie Brown happily concludes a visit with his dentist — apparently not having suffered any cavities — and then shares what he learned with Linus and Snoopy. As Charlie Brown explains how to brush and floss properly, we watch both Linus and Snoopy demonstrate these desired techniques. The film draws most of its humor from the fact that Snoopy is using Lucy's tooth brush, which the neighborhood's champion fussbudget fails to realize when she joins the bathroom gathering. As Charlie Brown and Linus react with hilarious expressions of nausea, Lucy uses the same brush to prove that she's the best brusher in town.

The music track behind this action is constant, and consistent: several variations of "The Heartburn Waltz," lifted from the score to Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, which had debuted January 28, 1975. This engaging theme was heard half a dozen times during the course of that Peanuts TV special, but never quite the same way twice; Guaraldi vamped and noodled through numerous arrangements and Hammond B3 variations, and he also recorded more versions than ultimately were used in the show. Thus, sharp-eared listeners who hang on every note during Tooth Brushing will detect a few versions of "The Heartburn Waltz" that are lifted directly from Be My Valentine, while at least one is an alternate take that never made it into the soundtrack.

Tooth Brushing is available for viewing on YouTube, and you'll find that it's cute and instructive, as well as being a nice showcase for Guaraldi's music.

A global welcome

Toby Gleason — son of former San Francisco Chronicle music critic Ralph Gleason, who in the 1960s became both Guaraldi's good friend and ad-hoc publicist — once perceptively referred to Vince Guaraldi as "the most famous jazz musician whose name nobody knows."


If fame is equated with artistic recognition, that statement speaks truth. People all over the world are familiar with Guaraldi's most frequently heard compositions for the early (1960s and '70s) Peanuts TV specials; many of the folks who don't know — or don't know how to pronounce — Guaraldi's name also mis-identify the most famous of those tunes. It's "Linus and Lucy," not "The Peanuts Theme."

But Guaraldi deserves recognition for much more than that, which led to my transition from avid fan to official biographer. My book, Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, was published last month by McFarland Press ... although, perhaps somewhat stubbornly, I've actually resisted the term "biography." I prefer to call this book a "career study," since it focuses primarily on Guaraldi's artistic output, and charts his life not by personal milestones, but by his many noteworthy musical accomplishments: his apprenticeship as a member of several Cal Tjader combos, and of big bands fronted by Woody Herman; his entry to Top 40 fame with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," a song that might never have cracked the pop charts at all, absent the involvement of a radio DJ in Sacramento, California; his attraction to the emerging bossa nova sound of the late 1950s, and the perfect stylistic collaboration that resulted, a few years later, with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete; and — last, but certainly not least — Guaraldi's development and performance of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass, the first such jazz mass performed during a religious service in the United States. (We take such musical events for granted in the 21st century; in the mid-'60s, it was nothing short of revolutionary.)


The latter accomplishment alone is arguably more significant than the rich portfolio of tunes that put the swing in Charlie Brown's step, and yet when folks think "Grace Cathedral" and "jazz," they're more likely to remember Duke Ellington ... whose September 16 Sacred Music concert came months after Guaraldi paved the way, on May 21, 1965.


My book was prompted by a desire to grant Guaraldi better recognition for this, and many other artistic accomplishments. Projects of this nature, though, are an endless task like housework: There's always something else to be discovered in some tucked-away corner. My rapidly expanding word count, as I revised draft after draft, finally demanded closure at just shy of 400 pages (and I'm grateful to my McFarland editor, for tolerating a final draft that clocked in at 50,000 words longer than we originally discussed!). I do believe that the finished book stands well on its own, as a testament to Guaraldi's career ... but (of course!) there's always more information to be ferreted out, more former sidemen to contact and interview, more rumored recordings to seek.


This blog, then, will be the home of such an ongoing conversation. Dry, dusty facts can be found on a companion document — the Vince Guaraldi Timeline — where you can look up where he played when, and with whom. But this is the place for more convivial chatter, and I look forward to reading anecdotes and memories from folks who recall seeing Guaraldi perform. For that matter, I'm always curious to hear about your favorite Guaraldi tunes; he may not have lived his four score and ten, but he left us a rich catalogue of music ... both original compositions and "cover" arrangements of jazz standards and 1960s pop tunes. No matter what he played, though, he was always unmistakably Vince. You simply can't hear a Guaraldi performance without knowing it's him.


So ... let the conversation begin!