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. 

The campaign heats up!

 Back in the spring and summer of 1972, as presidential contenders Richard Nixon and George McGovern jockeyed for advantage, an increasingly popular underdog candidate entered the fray. Hallmark kicked off that campaign with the lenticular button shown above.

Alas, Snoopy was defeated at the polls. We can only speculate how much better our country would be today, had he become The World-Famous President.

 

Another equally important election took place on October 29 that year, just nine days before Nixon galloped home with 60.7 percent of the popular vote. Linus Van Pelt and Russell Anderson faced off in You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, the eighth prime-time Peanuts special from the artistic dream team of Charles Schulz, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez and Vince Guaraldi.

As previously mentioned in my July 10 post, Guaraldi’s soundtrack for this special debuts this Friday, September 6. Three physical releases will be available: a CD; a regular black vinyl LP, available at all retailers; and a “Woodstock Yellow” vinyl LP, excusive to independent record stores. The album also will be available via all streaming services, and as a digital download. Click here for purchase and streaming links to select stores and services (although the album also will be available from many other retailers and digital services).

 

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Looking ahead, fans of colored vinyl variants will be pleased to learn that last year’s soundtrack album for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be re-released in three new exclusive versions on October 18:

 

• A picture disc from Barnes & Noble, featuring two scenes from the special

• A “turkey tan” vinyl from Target, and

• A “purple jelly bean” vinyl available only from independent record stores.

Note: The musical content is exactly the same as last year’s LP release. And, of course, the regular CD, black vinyl and digital releases also remain available. Purchase links for all options can be found here.

Summer comes early this year!

Big news, gang.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions has made good on its promise to deliver another of Vince Guaraldi's iconic Peanuts soundtracks.

Their announcement went live earlier today:

Available for the first time ever!

Vince Guaraldi’s complete soundtrack for 1969's It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

Limited release in celebration of the special's 55th anniversary

Available exclusively on "Camp Green" Vinyl (12-inch, 45 RPM) 

for Record Store Day, April 20th

    “This entire score is can’t-be-played-often-enough ear candy. It’s as fresh and vibrant today — and as swinging — as when it was laid down 55 years ago: yet another captivating display of Guaraldi’s compositional genius and keyboard wizardry.

    Summer never sounded so sweet.”

— From the liner notes by Derrick Bang, Author, Vince Guaraldi at the Piano

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the release of Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the sixth animated Peanuts special, from writer/creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson. The special originally aired on CBS-TV on September 27, 1969, and currently can be streamed on Apple TV+.

 

The album includes the original recordings that comprise the special's song cues, plus six bonus and alternative tracks that never have been released or heard before.

Track list:

A1. CHARLIE BROWN THEME

A2. LINUS AND LUCY

A3. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN

A4. OH, GOOD GRIEF!

A5. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN

A6. SCHROEDER

A7. BUS BLUES / BUS BLUES (REPRISE)

A8. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)

A9. FRIEDA (WITH THE NATURALLY CURLY HAIR)

A10. OH, GOOD GRIEF! (REPRISE)

A11. COME AND GET IT / HASH / HASH WITH HORN / AM BREAK / TAH DAH 

A12. BON VOYAGE

A13. PEPPERMINT PATTY

A14. LOVE WILL COME (NOVA BOSSA)

A15. HE’S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN

B1. PEBBLE BEACH

B2. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)

B3. HE’S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)

B4. MASKED MARVEL

B5. AIR MUSIC

B6. MASKED MARVEL (REPRISE) / MASKED MARVEL (2ND REPRISE) 

B7. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN (2ND REPRISE)

B8. LINUS AND LUCY (REPRISE)

B9. OH, GOOD GRIEF! (2ND REPRISE)

B10. CHARLIE BROWN THEME (REPRISE)

B11. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN (2ND REPRISE) 

Bonus content:

B12. LINUS AND LUCY (ALTERNATE)

B13. WORKING ON “IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN” 

B14. BUS BLUES (ALTERNATE)

B15. PEBBLE BEACH (ALTERNATE)

B16. MASKED MARVEL (ALTERNATE)

B17. LINUS AND LUCY (REPRISE ALTERNATE)

(Three sample tracks can be heard here.)

 

Guaraldi lovingly created the soundtrack for the summer camp adventure that finds Charlie Brown and his gang facing off against the girls’ camp members, led by Peppermint Patty. The album's large jazz combo also delivers the best rendition of Guaraldi's classic tune, “Love Will Come (Nova Bossa),” and features his first use of additional percussion supplied by Victor Feldman.

 

The recording features Guaraldi (piano), Monty Budwig (double bass), Jack Sperling (drums), Conti and Pete Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Feldman (percussion), Herb Ellis (guitar), William Hood and Peter Christlieb (woodwinds), with John Scott Trotter as orchestra leader. The album was produced by Sean and Jason Mendelson, sons of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson, and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

 

The album will be available exclusively at participating retail outlets starting April 20, 2024, as part of Record Store Day. Store locations and additional information is available at recordstoreday.com.

The album's Record Store Day page is here.

 

The album includes liner notes and a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and Sean Mendelson. The package also boasts images from the special, and of the recently re-discovered original tape boxes (which led to this release).  

 

For an extended version of the press release and more information, click here. 

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Pretty cool, eh?

To anticipate the obvious question, CD and digital releases will follow later this year, and will be announced at a future date. (Stay tuned!)

Some of the adjectives in the press release above are a bit breathless, but the enthusiasm is warranted. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, because it's absolutely Guaraldi's jazziest and sassiest Peanuts soundtrack, thanks to the larger-than-usual combo involved (because he was simultaneously working with some of these cats on the score for the Peanuts gang's big-screen debut, in A Boy Named Charlie Brown).

This new release was made possible, in part, by the enthusiastic response — and better-than-anticipated sales figures — of last year's soundtrack debut of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. And you know how this works: If Short Summer proves similarly successful, that'll increase the chances of additional Guaraldi treats, moving forward.

Record Store Day lines form well before opening time ... so don't oversleep on April 20th!

Vince in a symphony hall!

This should be a very exciting year for Guaraldi fans.

Nashville-based musician, composer and arranger Dick Tunney has been commissioned to create what is being dubbed a Peanuts Concerto: an ambitious work that will morph Guaraldi’s most recognizable themes into a symphonic fantasy for solo piano and orchestra.

Jeffrey Biegel

The project was spearheaded by Tunney’s colleague Jeffrey Biegel, a celebrated New York-based pianist/composer whose accomplishments and accolades would tax even the most encyclopedic biographer.

“He’s a tremendous player,” Tunney notes, during a recent chat, “an off-the-charts, crazy-good Juilliard artist. When he gets something under his hands, he owns it.”

“I read an interview with Charles Schulz’s son Craig, back in 2013 or so,” Biegel explains, picking up the narrative. “Craig was struck by something that worried his father, who at one point wondered aloud, ‘Do you think they’ll remember me?’

“Well, in his case, of course. But the thing is, everything you’ve done, when you pass, it’s over. People will think less about you, and what you’ve done, if you’re not around any more. I sent Craig an email, and told him that really hit home, because not only should Schulz and Peanuts go on, but what about the music? Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts music is either locked up in those specials for eternity, or they’re only heard in orchestral versions usually adapted from the Christmas special.

“There’s not a new performance work at all, based on Guaraldi’s Peanuts music ... and certainly not a concerto for piano and orchestra. So I’ve been commissioned to take the music from those TV specials, and place them into a musical work that orchestras can book and present to audiences.”

Biegel has developed an artistic business model that has been successful for 20 years: He initiates projects with composers; raises all the money from donors and orchestras, to pay the composer to write a concerto for him; and then he (Biegel) gets to play it with the orchestras involved.

Childhood Fantasy

Researchers rely on the kindness of friends and strangers, who occasionally point us in the direction of something — a key piece of information, a fascinating anecdote — that we wouldn't otherwise have found.

In that way, I'm grateful to a good friend for calling my attention to a delightful online profile of Dogpaw Carillo, the sort of cheerful, colorful figure who typifies San Francisco's still-quite-lively counter-culture vibe. Dogpaw — and that's how he prefers to be called — is the star of this engaging and informative article by Viktorija Rinkevičiūtė, which she wrote during her post-graduate stint as a master's student in media, journalism and globalization, while at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. She subsequently returned to Lithuania, where she maintains an engaging blog and looks back fondly on the time she spent in Northern California.

As you'll discover, reading Viktorija's charming piece, Dogpaw spent part of his childhood living directly adjacent to the Treat Avenue headquarters of Fantasy Records. He grew up in a house at 841 Treat; Fantasy was next door, at 855 Treat.

(A quick sidebar: We have become conditioned to assume — thanks in part to a Vince Guaraldi composition — that Fantasy's most famous early home was on Treat Street. But Guaraldi's tune isn't the only source; this slight error has been promulgated by scores of musicians who refer to the good ol' days, when "Fantasy was on Treat Street." Many of them are quoted saying as much in my book. The lapse is understandable; "Treat Street" rolls more swiftly off the tongue, and the rhyme is hard to resist. But it's a mistake nonetheless: Although San Francisco does possess a tiny Treat Street, it's nowhere near the Mission District locale where Fantasy Records made its home ... on Treat Avenue.)

Aside from being absorbed by Dogpaw's childhood memories, I was drawn to the several times he mentioned Guaraldi. Viktorija had no reason to pursue these references to Dr. Funk, since her story focused more generally on Dogpaw, then and now. But I sensed that he'd have more to say about Guaraldi, and so I contacted Viktorija. She kindly shared Dogpaw's contact information, and she also sent along several additional photos that she hadn't used in her article.

I found Dogpaw just as amiable — just as eager to chat about his Treat Avenue days — as I would have expected. And he did, indeed, have a great deal more to share about Guaraldi and Fantasy.

(I've tried to avoid too much overlap with the information in Viktorija's article, although some basic details are necessary.)

Dogpaw examines the exterior of 855 Treat Avenue, the
once-upon-a-time home of Fantasy Records, and now
headquarters of the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
(Photo by Viktorija Rinkevičiūtė)

Dogpaw grew up in the house at 841 Treat, and remained there through his teens; his adolescence coincided perfectly with the 1960s, when Fantasy blossomed from a modest jazz label that went "13-1/2 years without a hit" — at which point Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" came along — to the more ambitious operation that expanded into rock 'n' roll and most famously signed the band that became Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"Fantasy was literally right over the fence," Dogpaw recalls. "They shared the property with a lumberyard; this guy would come in maybe once in a blue moon, and chop and saw some wood, and then take off. His buzz-saw was right next to the studio! But they must've worked it out, because he never made noise when Max [Weiss] wanted to record something.

"At first, I thought the place next door might be a radio station, because you'd see instruments being loaded off vehicles, and going in, and later coming back out again, and all these radio-looking people. That was the vibe, so we kids knew it had something to do with music. Initially, we all thought that every neighborhood had one of these places, like every neighborhood had a playground or a library. This was just normal to us, having a studio on the block.

"But of course it wasn't normal. Growing up on Treat was very, very special."

Beethoven, Schroeder and Vince

As I've observed many times, one's fame isn't merely a function of popularity in the moment, or even during a lifetime, but also the degree to which one's art becomes ubiquitous enough to be included as a relevant part of important events years — even decades — after passing on.

Thus, I was delighted by the significant role Guaraldi played during last weekend's public unveiling of the Green Music Center's new Schroeder Hall, all part of Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. The intimate, 250-seat venue was named after Charlie Brown's Beethoven-loving friend, Schroeder, at the suggestion of Charles M. Schulz's widow, philanthropist Jeannie Schulz. Aside from that nod to the resolutely focused Peanuts character who never lets lovestruck Lucy Van Pelt distract him from pounding out complicated symphonies on a toy keyboard — with painted black keys! — the designation also acknowledges Charles "Sparky" Schulz's lifelong fondness for classical music.

Additionally, the name brings renewed focus to a longstanding debate among Peanuts fans: Is Schroeder the young lad's first name ... or his last?

"People ask if there's a Mr. Schroeder," laughed Laurence Furukawa-Schlereth, co-executive director of the Green Music Center, when he was interviewed in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Schroeder Hall's debut weekend was marked by close to a dozen concerts and special events, the first of which — dubbed the "Schroeder Overture" — took place Friday evening, August 22. The cheerful, invitation-only crowd was an engaging blend of donors, Sonoma State University and Green Music Center personnel, staff members from both the Charles M. Schulz Museum and neighboring Creative Associates, and honored guests.

I had to wear a coat and tie, which conflicted with my long-established "Northern California casual" rep. Folks who know me would have fainted at the sight.

But it was a Snoopy tie, so maybe it would have been only a brief swoon.

Dr. Funk's first Golden Anniversary disc

Guaraldi fans have two new items to put on their wish lists ... assuming said fans haven't already picked 'em up.

On Tuesday, May 13, the Concord Music Group unveiled 50th anniversary editions of Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, in two states: a CD newly re-mastered by engineer Joe Tarantino; and a collector's-edition LP that reproduces the original 1964 "gatefold" packaging, along with all its contents.

The CD features the original album's nine tracks, along with the bonus track of "Fly Me to the Moon," added when the album went digital back in the 1980s. Additionally, we get one more bonus track, new to this release: an alternate take of "Baseball Theme." The 16-page booklet has a reversable cover, so you can view either a reproduction of the aforementioned gatefold LP cover -- when the album's full title was Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown -- or the later cover that most people recognize. Perhaps in a nod to historical accuracy, the latter CD cover now only identifies this as "The original sound track recording," and leaves off the second half of the phrase ("of the CBS television special") ... which makes sense, since the documentary for which this score was composed, never aired on TV at all.

The disc is rather drolly designed to resemble a baseball, complete with stitching; the booklet and cover/interior page are laden with artwork taken from the 12 Charles M. Schulz "collectible lithographs of Peanuts characters" included in the 1964 gatefold edition. (Indeed, the CD cover art is taken from one of those 12 lithographs, shown above.) The booklet includes the original LP notes by both director/producer Lee Mendelson and jazz historian Ralph Gleeson, along with a new 1,900-word essay by my own self.

The collectible LP reproduces the original 1964 gatefold edition as accurately as possible, with one major change: This anniversary edition is pressed onto orange vinyl, in a nod toward Fantasy's original gimmick of releasing its LPs on colored vinyl (usually red or blue). From the outside, the gatefold package looks just as it did 50 years ago, up to and including the list -- on the back -- of "Other Fantasy albums of interest": eight titles, complete with their original Fantasy mono and stereo catalog numbers.

(This list undoubtedly was responsible for one of the common errors that has plagued many careless Guaraldi discographies. At first blush, these eight LPs appear to belong to Guaraldi, but that isn't true; two of them are Bola Sete albums ... and I've frequently found one of those, Tour de Force, incorrectly assigned to Guaraldi. Tsk-tsk!)

I note only one difference, between the front and back cover art of this 50th anniversary gatefold and my 1964 original: The latter lists the Fantasy catalog numbers for both the mono and stereo versions at the upper left of the front cover, while the anniversary edition cites only the stereo release.

The LP itself divides the original nine songs between the two sides in the same sequence, reproducing the spelling error present back in 1964: The little girl with the "naturally curly hair" is Frieda, not Freda. But a new mistake has crept in, as well: "Freda [sic] (With the Naturally Curly Hair)" is Side B's final track, as always has been the case. But Side B has only four tracks, yet this anniversary disc identifies that tune as Track 5 ... having skipped the number 4. (Oopsie!)

The LP is made from a fresh (new) master derived from the original analog tapes (as opposed to the CD re-master). The LP has no bonus tracks.

Lee Mendelson and Ralph Gleason's essays occupy the interior gatefold panels. As before, the sidemen remain uncredited. And no, my new essay isn't part of this LP, which makes sense, since it obviously wasn't part of the 1964 package.

The 12 Schulz lithographs are almost identical in size and content, including the original 1964 copyright assigned to "United Features Syndicate Inc., N.Y.C." But there are slight changes, reflecting a half-century difference between graphic reproduction. The paper stock is different; the 1964 lithos are on slightly shiny paper, which reflect any light sources. The new lithos also are roughly an eighth of an inch shorter horizontally, which -- depending on the image -- results in some artwork being chopped off one side or the other. 

Some of the colors are slightly different, generally slightly darker, and most visibly with the blues; the new blues are more "true." In the iconic pose of Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound, for example, the sky behind him now looks more accurate, whereas the sky color in the 1964 counterpart is more of an aquamarine blue. Schroeder's piano is a slightly darker orange in the new litho; the background purples (floor and wall) in that image also are a bit darker. Snoopy's brown baseball glove, in the new litho, has the faint moiré pattern cross-hatching that one gets when scanning a halftone-screen image. Sharp-eyed folks also will notice that the new images, in some cases, omit just a touch of the artwork from the originals. In one litho, shown above, Linus stands in the ball field, next to a tree; the top of the tree extends out of the image, and the original has a little bit more "crown" than the new version. 

Mind you, these are all very minor distinctions, reported here simply for the sake of comparison. Nobody will care, and in fact I prefer the new paper stock because it's doesn't glare.

All in all, they're impressive packages — LP and CD — and, given the effort that went into both, I'm now quite curious to see what Concord will do next year, to similarly honor the 50th anniversary of the score for A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Lee Mendelson, lyricist

Director/producer Lee Mendelson deserves oodles of credit for creating what became the Peanuts television empire; he also had the genius to gather a four-man team that included Charles M. Schulz, Bill Melendez and Vince Guaraldi. Everything started with Schulz, of course, who scripted the early 30-minute specials that featured his characters. Melendez and his crew animated Charlie Brown and the gang; Guaraldi and his fellow musicians supplied the swing in everybody's step. Mendelson officially served as director and producer.

And, on a few occasions, he turned into a songwriter.

The most famous example, and the tale oft-told by Mendelson himself, refers to A Charlie Brown Christmas and the song it made famous: "Christmas Time Is Here."

To quote a brief passage from my book:

As late summer [1965] segued to early autumn, the Peanuts Christmas special was coming together; a rough cut, set to Guaraldi's music, opened on Charlie Brown and his friends skating on a frozen pond, as snowflakes gently flurried about them. But although Mendelson liked the music employed behind the action — Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" — he felt the scene lacked something.

"The opening song was an instrumental," Mendelson recalled. "I felt we should get some lyrics, and some voices. We couldn't find anybody to write the lyrics, and I called all my Hollywood friends who were songwriters. But nobody took the assignment, so I sat down, and in about 10 minutes wrote the words to 'Christmas Time Is Here' on an envelope.

"I sure wish I still had that envelope!"

Ask folks to cite Peanuts songs that include lyrics, and you'll get a very short list: "Christmas Time Is Here," "Joe Cool" and "Little Birdie." Guaraldi himself wrote the words for the latter two. But Peanuts fans with very good memories can add another song: the title theme to You're in Love Charlie Brown, the fourth Peanuts special, which debuted June 12, 1967. The show's title theme, a lyrical, slightly woeful waltz, reflects Charlie Brown's hopeless yearning for the never-seen Little Red-Haired Girl.

Mendelson, no doubt encouraged by the success he'd had with "Christmas Time Is Here," penned some brief lyrics for this title theme, which are heard as the show's credits appear:

Poor little Charlie Brown,
Don't let love bring you down.
You'll have your day,
She'll come your way;
She'll take away your frown.
Poor little Charlie Brown.

At least ... I thought they were brief.

Well, in fairness, that's all we ever heard. That's all anybody ever knew about.

But that's not all Mendelson wrote.

Guaraldi's tune continues far longer than those six lines; it therefore stands to reason that Mendelson might have written lyrics for the entire composition, although I doubt anybody ever made that assumption. Thanks to some digging at the U.S. Library of Congress, and a related search of the U.S. Copyright Office, the full story — or, rather, the full song — has come to light.

(Truly, I love this sort of discovery!)

Herewith, then, Lee Mendelson's full lyrics to "You're in Love, Charlie Brown," accompanied by one of the actual manuscript pages that was filed with the Copyright Office. Note the twin bylines: "V. Guaraldi + L. Mendelson." Note also the hilarious doodle of — I'm guessing — Charlie Brown's head!

Poor little Charlie Brown,

Don't let love bring you down.

You'll have your day,

She'll come your way;

She'll take away your frown.

Poor little Charlie Brown,

Don't let your hopes all drown.

You'll have your day,

She'll come your way;

You're in love, Charlie Brown.

She's a sweet Little Red-Haired Girl,

Who's nice as she can be.

All she needs is a little boy

Who's just as perfect as she.

Poor little Charlie Brown,

Always ends up a clown.

Who would love you?

No one! That's who!

Why don't you just leave town.

Poor little Charlie Brown,

No one could love that frown.

Who would love you?

No one! That's who!

Your face is too darned round.

Ouch! Those two final choruses are killers, aren't they? 

Perhaps that's why we never got to hear them in the show...

One last little oddity: Various DVDs of this Peanuts special include the six brief lines as indicated above. The English audio soundtrack included with the Warners 1960s collection DVD, however (and rather strangely!), features a different sixth line: You're in love, Charlie Brown ... which you'll note is the final line of the second stanza. It's therefore possible that at least the entire second stanza was recorded during production, but then left unused.

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Catholic San Francisco runs an occasional feature titled "Cemetery Corner," which marks the 125th anniversary of Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California. The entry in a recent issue (October 19, 2012) is a nice little tribute to Guaraldi, and includes an excellent photo of his grave marker (sharpest photo I've seen of it, in fact). Check it out here.

Still spreading the word

I love libraries; I faithfully biked to our local library every Friday afternoon after school, pretty much from the time I was old enough to make such a trip (about four miles) on my own. This continued through high school, at which point I then transitioned to the majestic main library at UC Davis, where I completed my undergraduate work. I subsequently learned that it's by no means the largest library in the University of California system, but it sure impressed me at the time: four floors of books, plus a basement, in a structure so immense that one could get lost in the crazy-quilt section between the second and third floors, in the oldest part of the building. (Indeed, one freshman rite-of-passage involved getting "accidentally" locked in the library overnight, a feat easily accomplished in that section.)

More recently, I lost myself for untold hours, days, weeks and months in the UC Davis library's microfilm section, poring over old newspapers, while researching Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. (Sadly, they've a long way to go before that entire newspaper archive gets digitized.)

I'm therefore delighted to be presenting my Guaraldi dog-and-pony show in a library this week: the first time I've been able to "give back" to one of the venerable lending institutions where I've derived such pleasure over the years. I'll be reading an excerpt and then giving a brief overview of Guaraldi's life, accompanied by photos, audio and video clips: a program very similar to the one I gave at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, back in late June. This one will take place in a few days, at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 13, at the St. Helena Public Library. That's part of the wine country, as folks in Northern California know: very close to Charles Krug, one of my favorite wineries.

This gig was set up by one of my partners in crime — and publishing — Don Fraser, a longtime Peanuts licensee who retired from active duty in that realm, but has remained quite active among those of us devoted to highlighting Charles M. Schulz's fame at every opportunity. Don and I co-edited Security Blankets: How Peanuts Touched Our Lives a few years ago, a project that (alas!) delivered far more delight in prep and production, than in eventual sales. (Ah, well; they can't all be winners!) Don and his wife live in St. Helena, so it came as little surprise when he contacted me one day and confessed to having rather aggressively pitched me as a worthy candidate for his local library's speaker program. Apparently, they weren't able to refuse.

My presentation will be free, so if you've no other plans Thursday evening — and the commute wouldn't be too onerous — please drop by.

*****

KCSM Jazz Radio, not too much farther away in San Mateo, aired its Guaraldi special — Vince Guaraldi: The Story of Dr. Funk — last Friday between 7 and 9 a.m. (PST); the show, divided into distinct parts, was one of the featured specials presented during the station's pledge drive. On-air host Alisa Clancy interviewed quite a few folks for the show, including Colin Bailey, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly and Lee Mendelson; she also spent a delightful 90 minutes with me earlier in the summer. She did an accomplished job in production, blending music, commentary and interview material, and I'd like to think it was the highlight of that day's pledge activities. Alisa and colleague Chris Phillips also maintained a lively patter during the pledge breaks themselves, and I was delighted to hear that copies of my book were among the thank-you gifts for pledges at or above a certain level. (Frankly, Alisa enthused about my book so much that I blushed.)

Why do I mention all this, since the show aired last week? Well, The Story of Dr. Funk was such a hit that KCSM will repeat it this weekend: from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, September 16. So, if you missed it the first time, you've got a second chance. The station streams its content from its Web site, which you'll find linked above, so you can listen from anywhere in the world. Best of all, Alisa admits that last Friday's version was truncated a bit, since the morning activities also included a birthday tribute to Sonny Rollins; she promises that her complete edit of Dr. Funk will air this Sunday.

Heck, I thoroughly enjoyed the "short" version; I can't wait to hear the rest!