Plenty of Respect: 2026 Update

Two years and change have passed since I last addressed the topic of other jazz artists doing covers of Guaraldi compositions, back in this original post.

To recap, the goal is to compile an ever-expanding list of jazz artists who've recorded a) original tribute compositions honoring Guaraldi; and b) covers of Guaraldi compositions other than "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and the Charlie Brown Christmas quartet — "Linus and Lucy," "My Little Drum," "Christmas Is Coming" and "Christmas Time Is Here" — because they've long been popular targets.

Once again, the Mechanical Licensing Collective's Musical Works Database, which can be accessed here, has been the most help. The advantage is the ability to search by composition and composer: quite useful with respect to some of Guaraldi's more generic titles. (As the most obvious examples, several people have written songs called "Joe Cool," "Peppermint Patty" and "Pebble Beach.")

The following list represents new entries since the previous February 2024 update, which also have been added to the master list in the aforementioned March 2021 post. I've also turned this ongoing post into a section of my permanent Guaraldi informational web pages, for easier access.

And I'm pleased to note that "Great Pumpkin Waltz" continues to gain in popularity!

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• Air Music (Surfin’ Snoopy)

The Mich Shirey Trio, Guitar for Guaraldi

• Blue Charlie Brown

The Liberty Junior School 8th Grade Jazz Band, Lakota Schools 2019 Winter Jazz Festival

• Charlie Brown Theme

Fred Cantu and his Big Band, M.F.G.

• Great Pumpkin Waltz

Jonathan Danis, A Jonathan Danis Christmas

The Hit Crew, Kids Halloween Movie Themes

Lee Shapiro, Somewhere (mistitled as "Rain, Rain, Go Away" ... oopsie!)

Trisha Wolf, Pop and Classical Ballet Class: Songs of Autumn

Lior Yekutieli, Recent Memories

• Happiness Theme

Amanda Whiting, A Christmas Cwtch

• Oh, Good Grief

Vint, Versace & Black, A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live at the Century Room

• Star Song

Tim Dueñas Latin Jazz Trio, Originals: 9 + 3

• Thanksgiving Theme

Jonathan Danis, A Jonathan Danis Christmas

The score, the whole score, and nothing but the score...

[Important note: Although the information below was accurate when originally posted, is has been superseded by 2022's deluxe, five-disc Charlie Brown Christmas set, mentioned here.]

Sharp-eared Guaraldi fans love to analyze every single note heard in A Charlie Brown Christmas, in part because that’s the only Peanuts TV special to have generated its own soundtrack album. Many times over the years, I’ve fielded this question: “What’s being played about seven minutes into the show, as Charlie Brown watches Snoopy decorate his doghouse? That music isn’t on the album!” Answer: “Air Music,” also known as “Surfin’ Snoopy” ... and while it’s true that tune doesn’t appear on the soundtrack album, it is included on the CD Charlie Brown’s Holiday Hits.

For quite awhile, my interest is this particular topic was confined solely to such easy album/soundtrack comparisons. But when what we can call the “sidemen controversy” erupted anew late last year — regarding which of Guaraldi’s bassists and drummers performed on the special’s TV soundtrack, and/or the subsequent album, as detailed at length in this blog’s previous post — I realized that Fantasy’s long-standing justification for the credits, as given since the album’s re-release in 1998, required further scrutiny.

The assumption, as I explained, is that one set of sidemen (bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey) recorded the show’s actual soundtrack, in Hollywood; and a second set of sidemen (bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli) subsequently recorded the album’s music, in San Francisco.

But can this theory be supported by the evidence?

In a word ... no.

At least, not completely.