It's variant season!

Summer is almost here, which means — among other things — that it's vinyl variant season.

Craft Recordings will celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with an impressive variety of new releases. The centerpiece is an eye-catching 45 RPM zoetrope LP, arriving August 7, which will feature memorable scenes from the special on each side, along with a new essay from Sean Mendelson.

Additional pumpkin-shaped color options will be available on August 21 from Barnes & Noble ("electric pumpkin patch"), Walmart ("pumpkin spice"), Target ("ghost white"), Craft Recordings ("candy corn") and Target (a 4-inch tiny vinyl, available July 17, and previously mentioned in an earlier post). Additionally, the conventional "orange pumpkin" pressing once again will be available at all major retailers. All of these options can be pre-ordered here.

Recorded on October 4, 1966, at Desilu's Gower Street Studio in Hollywood, just weeks ahead of its October 27 television debut, the Halloween special marked a new era in Peanuts scores, with the participation of seasoned composer, arranger and conductor John Scott Trotter. While music for the first two specials was managed entirely by Guaraldi, Trotter — best known for his three-decade run as Bing Crosby’s music director — brought a sense of order to the sessions, helping the jazz musician better tailor his music into short, TV-friendly cues. Joining Guaraldi were his trio members (bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey), plus Emmanuel “Mannie” Klein (trumpet), John Gray (guitar), and Ronald Lang (woodwinds), who added warm textures to the autumnal score.

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But wait ... that's not all!

It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown also is getting two more vinyl variants:

• A "mysterious magenta" from Urban Outfitters, available August 21, which can be pre-ordered here; and

• A "mystifying teal" from Barnes & Noble, available August 20, which can be pre-ordered here.

Later in the year, new vinyl variants for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas are anticipated, but details haven't yet been announced ... so watch this spot!

Grab your deerstalkers!

The 75th anniversary celebration of Guaraldi's professional career continues with the debut soundtrack release of It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown: the 11th Peanuts TV special, which debuted February 1, 1974.

The show was written by Charles Schulz, produced by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson, and directed by Phil Roman. 

Guaraldi is joined by Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark and Eliot Zigmund, drums. The combo took its time laying down this score, with six sessions at San Francisco's Wally Heider Studios: December 14 and 16-19, 1973; and January 23, 1974.

The 15 soundtrack cues are accompanied by four bonus tracks from the Mystery recording session, along with two jazz standards recorded around the same time, featuring Ron McClure on bass.

The album was mixed by Terry Carleton at Bones, and Knives Studio, and restored and mastered by Vinson Hudson. Sean and Jason Mendelson produced the album, which includes a four-page insert with art from the special, extensive liner notes by Sean and Jason Mendelson, and an historical essay by my own self.

The special "clear magnifying glass" biovinyl Record Store Day LP will debut on September 18, at your local brick-and-mortar music shop. It will be packaged with a magnifying glass, designed to help solve some of this release's "Easter egg" mysteries. 

CD, digital and additional vinyl information will be released at a later date.

The album can be pre-ordered at this Record Store Day page. (Bear in mind that not all stores get listed; if you don't see your local favorite, give 'em a call.)

TRACK LIST

1. Little Birdie

2. Mystery Theme/Mystery Theme [Reprise]

3. It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown

4. Sassy Sally/It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown [Reprise]

5. Mystery Theme [2nd Reprise]

6. Cops And Robbers

7. It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown [2nd Reprise]

8. Mystery Theme [3rd Reprise]

9. It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown [3rd Reprise]

10. Sally's Blues

11. Mystery Interlude #1

12. Joe Cool

13. It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown [4th Reprise]

14. Mystery Theme [4th Reprise]

15. Mystery Theme [5th Reprise]

BONUS TRACKS

16. It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown [2nd Reprise - Alternative Take]

17. Snoopy Holmes

18. Mystery Theme [Viberslap Mix/Studio Banter]

19. Little Birdie [Alternate Vince Whistle]

20. Cops And Robbers [Rhythm Section Mix]

21. Joe Cool [Just Vince Mix]

22. Autumn Leaves [Take 1]

23. Billie's Bounce [Take 2]

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But wait, there's more!

Target has just announced an exclusive, "tiny vinyl" edition of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which will debut July 17.

Side A features "The Great Pumpkin Waltz," and "Graveyard Theme" is on side B.

Time to once again break out your tiny record players!

Are you listening?

Well, this is totally cool.

Between October 17 and 19, inclusive, brick-and-mortar music stores across the entire United States will host "listening parties" of Guaraldi's music from the many Peanuts TV specials. This event will take place in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia. (I guess Guaraldi fans in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota and Rhode Island are out of luck.)

Check out this page, to find a store closest to where you live, and here's the official RSD press release.

It would be amazing if everybody listened at exactly the same time ... but I realize that's impossible, given time zones, store hours and other parameters.

Sean and Jason Mendelson created a nifty, 54-minute playlist that features 22 tracks, with different versions of a few songs, which allows listeners to hear how Guaraldi's arrangements of a given tune evolved over time. The playlist is curated in between tracks, and concludes with an announcement about an upcoming release from Lee Mendelson Film Productions.

In a display of incredible patience and media-savvy enthusiasm, Sean and Jason recorded individual introductions for all 223 participating stores.

I look forward to hearing what participating fans — and readers of this blog — think of this event.

And here's a bonus: RSD also has mounted a contest, with some great Guaraldi and Peanuts swag. Ten lucky individuals will win these "Peanuts Packs," and you need only enter here to participate. The contest ends on October 25, so don't delay!

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We knew there would be even more, right?

That said, talk about being a last-minute Lucy ... Urban Outfitters just now — today — finally announced its picture disc vinyl version of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

I must say, the image is a perfect choice.

Additionally, Record Store Day has just announced a 60th anniversary vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, with a pop-up gatefold (and standard black vinyl).

It will be released on November 28, during RSD's "Black Friday" events, again via your local brick-and-mortar music store.

As an interesting sidebar, I suddenly wondered when the bonus track version of "Greensleeves" was added to vinyl re-issues. Back in the day, I had thought that extra a feature solely of digital releases, but that absolutely wasn't the case. Indeed, the 12th track also was added to vinyl albums back in 1988, almost the same time CDs debuted.

So ... does that make earlier, 11-track versions of the album more collectible?

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Getting back to It's the Great Pumpkin, Guaraldi fans in the Chicago area are in for a treat. The Mich Shirey Trio's annual "Great Pumpkin Show" has proven so popular, they'll do four shows in the next few weeks:

• 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 21, at Sleeping Village. Details.

• 10:30 p.m. Saturday, October 25, at Lemon. Details.

• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 26, at Broken Shaker. Details.

• Thursday, October 30, at Tack Room. Details.

If this post prompts you to attend one or more of these shows, be sure to mention that to Mich; he likes to know how folks find out.

Vinyl Madness 2025: Part 2 (with a bonus)

Okay, I knew we'd get more, given that the 75th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip debut is coming up on October 2...

...but seriously?

As my FiveCentsPlease blog colleague Scott suggested, we've now descended into vinyl insanity.

Truly, I feel sorry for the completists out there who are determined to get everything. (And I know you exist, because I hear from some of you.)

I'd love to think this is the final tally for what remains of 2025, but honestly ... I won't be surprised if a few more pop up, in the next month. If any more are announced, they'll be added to this post, so check back in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, let's dig in.

A previous blog post focused vinyl variants of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas, so we'll consider those two done. (Fingers crossed.)

So, let's move now to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. And, as it happens...

...Target is offering a ghost-white, pumpkin-shaped LP, due for release Friday, September 26. It can be ordered here.

Urban Outfitters also has an exclusive picture-disc LP, released Friday, October 10.

Great image choice! It can be ordered here.

Record Store Day will feature this stunning 60th anniversary edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, with a pop-up gatefold (and standard black vinyl).

It will be released November 28, during RSD's "Black Friday" events, via your local brick-and-mortar music store.

And here's a surprise: The famed "big three" Peanuts holiday specials aren't the only albums getting variant treatment, because...

...the recently released score for You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is getting a "leaky pumpkin orange vinyl" from Urban Outfitters, due for release on October 17. It can be ordered here.

Actually, Urban Outfitters jumped into the game big-time this year, also with...

...a 4-inch yellow "tiny vinyl" excerpt from Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, also due for release on October 17. It can be ordered here.

Peanuts Greatest Hits is getting two vinyl variants: the first a 75th anniversary picture disc, available Friday, September 26, at numerous sources; and an exclusive Urban Outfitters black and yellow disc, due October 17.

The picture disc can be ordered here (among other places), and the Urban Outfitters variant here.

But Urban Outfitters isn't done yet...

...because they're also offering an exclusive "crayons colored vinyl" version of Peanuts Portraits, due October 17. It can be ordered here.

So, you undoubtedly assume that's enough, right?

Nope.

Record Store Day's many brick-and-mortar outlets throughout the country also will offer exclusive CD releases on October 17, starting with...

...the awesome, six-disc box set of Vince Guaraldi: The Peanuts Collection (Volume 1) containing Lee Mendelson Film Productions' previous releases (same music, same mastering, same liner notes). The contents include the six albums cited below, bearing the new cover art also cited below. It can be ordered here.

Additionally, your favorite brick-and-mortar stores will offer half a dozen individual Peanuts special scores as CD releases — again, same music, same mastering, same liner notes — with "Indie exclusive cover art," starting with Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown:

Valentine can be ordered here; Elected can be ordered here.

Next up: "Indie exclusive cover art" versions of It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown:

Easter Beagle can be ordered here; Short Summer can be ordered here.

Finally (dare I say finally?), you can salivate over "Indie exclusive cover art" versions of You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving:

(So I guess we weren't done with Thanksgiving after all...) Good Sport can be ordered here; Thanksgiving can be ordered here.

So ... is that truly it, for the rest of the year? As I said above, while I'd love to think so, this year already has been full of surprises, so we shouldn't discount the possibility of one or two more.

Rest assured, if anything else pops up, you'll find out here.

Meanwhile ... better work extra hours, because your bank accounts are about to take a serious hit!

Vinyl Madness 2025: Part 1...

...because I’m certain of a Part 2 within another few weeks.

 

As befits this 75th anniversary year of Peanuts — October 2 is the actual diamond anniversary date — all manner of folks have jumped on the bandwagon: everything from clothes and plush, to toys, electronics and even art installations.

 

Needless to say, that list includes the two record labels dedicated to Guaraldi.

 

Vinyl variants of A Charlie Brown Christmas have been an annual tradition since 2014, but this year Craft Recordings — in partnership with numerous retailers — has pulled out all the stops.

 

But before discussing those, let’s first focus on the holiday that too frequently feels forgotten, between Halloween and Christmas.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions will issue a pair of Charlie Brown Thanksgiving variants: a picture disc, exclusive to Barnes & Noble (different from their 2024 picture disc); and a "yellow jelly bean" disc, exclusive to Record Store Day.

The Barnes & Noble album can be ordered here.

 

Information on Record Store Day’s participating brick-and-mortar outlets is here.

 

Both albums will be released on September 26.

 

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Moving on to A Charlie Brown Christmas...

 

To paraphrase Bette Davis from 1950’s All About Eve, "Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

 

We’re anticipating nine vinyl variants. They’re all discussed in Craft’s official press release.

 

The snazziest is this zoetrope disc from Craft, scheduled for release on September 26:

 

It can be pre-ordered here, and do check out this nifty promotional video. (It also can be purchased at Amazon and your local brick-and-mortar record store, among other outlets.)

 

The most unusual release will be this 4-inch “tiny vinyl” from Target, with only one song on each side: “Linus & Lucy” and “Christmas Time Is Here.” It’ll be released on October 31, and can be pre-ordered here.

 

Craft also is releasing a standard black vinyl disc in a holographic foil jacket; Walmart is releasing a red and gold vinyl in a similar holographic foil jacket. Both will be available August 29. The Craft LP can be ordered here (and is available elsewhere, as well); the Walmart album can be ordered here.

 

Best Buy will issue a bright neon green vinyl disc in a holographic foil jacket; Craft also will feature a glitter-colored vinyl in a holographic foil jacket. Both also will be available August 29. Pre-order the Best Buy album here, and the Craft album here (and this one is exclusive to Craft).

 

Barnes & Noble will feature a truly nifty two-sided picture disc, available September 26 (and, again, it's different from previously released picture discs); Target’s second offering will be a tree-green disc in a holographic foil jacket, available October 10. Pre-order the Barnes & Noble disc here; and the Target album here.

 

Finally, Urban Outfitters will offer a “blizzard swirl” album in a holographic foil jacket; it's expected on October 17, and can be ordered here.

 

Folks interested in “one stop shopping” will find links for most of the above here, along with mention of numerous other iterations.

 

Craft hasn’t yet released details about its plans for It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown — which is ironic, since Halloween comes before the other two holidays! — although I am aware of a “ghost white” pumpkin-shaped vinyl, exclusive to Target, which can be ordered here. I'll include that when I got full information about Halloween releases, which should follow shortly in the promised Part 2.

 

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On an entirely different note (no pun intended)...

Folks with keyboard talents, and a desire to emulate Dr. Funk, will be pleased by the pending arrival of this new songbook from Hal Leonard: Music from Peanuts Holiday Specials. 

 

Sean and Jason Mendelson worked with the publisher, to select the best tracks from the more recently released TV special scores.

 

The complete song list:

 

• Charlie Brown Theme

• Charlie Brown's Wake-Up

• Charlie's Blues

• Christmas Is Coming

• Christmas Time Is Here

• Easter Theme

• Graveyard Theme

• The Great Pumpkin Waltz

• Heartburn Waltz

• Linus And Lucy

• Linus And Lucy - Easter Beagle Edition

• Little Birdie

• Marcie's Song (Kitchen Music)

• Never Again

• Paw Pet Overture

• Peppermint Patty

• Red Baron

• Skating

• Thanksgiving Theme

• Woodstock's Dream

 

Although some of the above have appeared in previous songbook collections, roughly half have been transcribed for the first time. The book can be preordered here.

Time to flex those fingers! 

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And, one final note: I spent an enjoyable half-hour discussing Guaraldi on the most recent edition of Davisville, the local public affairs radio show hosted by longtime journalist Bill Buchanan. He has been very generous about granting me air time to discuss my biography, and other Guaraldi-related matters. You can listen to the show here.

Pumpkin Jazz

Thanks to the long-awaited 2022 release of Guaraldi's soundtrack to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, a few of the groups that mount annual Charlie Brown Christmas holiday shows have added similar performances to celebrate that Halloween album. It's a small list thus far, but they certainly deserve the same sort of shout-out ... and I'm sure more bands will follow in the future.

If I learn of any others in a timely fashion, I'll add them as an UPDATE, so you might want to check back every few days.

(I expect to post the annual Christmas performance list in mid-November.)

As for this debut Great Pumpkin list ... I gotta say, if you live in Illinois, you're about to have a great week!

• The Mich Shirey Trio, also known as Guitar for Guaraldi — Shirey, guitar; Nick Fane, bass; and Joey Buttlar, drums — will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, along with other Guaraldi treats, on Thursday, October 24, at the Tack Room in Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Doug Ferdinand Quartet — Ferdinand, keyboards; Patrick Keelan, vibraphone; Colin O'Malley, bass; and Brendan Mack, drums — will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Sunday, October 27, at the Blue Island Beer Company in Blue Island, Illinois. Details.

• The Chris White Quartet — White, piano; Greg Dudzienski, sax and flute; Sean Jacobi, bass; and Ryan Jacobi, drums — will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Tuesday, October 29, at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Details.

• The Mich Shirey Trio, also known as Guitar for Guaraldi — Shirey, guitar; Nick Fane, bass; and David Kuchera drums — will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, along with other Guaraldi treats, on Wednesday, October 30, at The Whistler in Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Chris White Quartet — White, piano; Greg Dudzienski, sax and flute; Sean Jacobi, bass; and Ryan Jacobi, drums — will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Wednesday, October 30, at The Winters Jazz Club in Chicago, Illinois. Details.

Pass the drumstick!

With copies of Guaraldi's score for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving finally landing in the hands of eager fans who've literally waited — in some cases — half a century for this treasure, Sean and Jason Mendelson have been hitting the publicity trail.

Check out the following:

• Sean and Jason's impressively enthusiastic, 35-minutes October 12 visit to the Cereal at Midnight podcast;

• A brief October 13 album plug at Jazz Weekly;

• The New York Times' reader-submitted "Ultimate Fall Playlist," published October 13, with Guaraldi's "Great Pumpkin Waltz" first on the 14-track result (where it's the only instrumental);

• Sean Mendelson's lengthy, 40-minute focus on the vinyl edition, during this October 18 chat with WCB: Jazz Vinyl Collector; 

• This nifty CNN video plug, citing the album alongside new releases from the Rolling Stones and Nancy Sinatra ... a gathering of 1960s icons!

• Sean Mendelson's 25-minute interview about the album, during this November 8 Neon Jazz Interviews chat;

• The official Lee Mendelson Film Productions Inc. YouTube album playlist.

And a couple blasts from the past:

• Good Housekeepings's "50 Best Thanksgiving Songs for Your Turkey Day Playlist," updated back in November 2021, with Guaraldi's "Thanksgiving Theme" nicely slotted at No. 19; and

• Entertainment Weekly's "15 Essential Songs for Your Thanksgiving Playlist," published in November 2022. The last-place entry goes to Guaraldi's "Thanksgiving Theme." (Hey, it still made the list, right?) In both these cases, the tune now can be heard on its own soundtrack album.

Finally, for those who eschew physical media, links to four different sources that offer digital purchase/downloads of the Thanksgiving tracks. (Qobuz is a reliable seller of lossless downloads; Presto Music is known mostly as a shop for classical music, but they also offer soundtracks and jazz.)

(This isn't a definitive list, merely the most common sources.)

• Amazon (MP3) (click on "Purchase Options")

• Apple/iTunes (M4A) (may open automatically in Music app, or you may need to click the "open in Music" button)

• Qobuz (lossless download, high-res download)

• Presto Music (lossless or MP3 download)

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Finally, a brief acknowledgment of the holiday that comes before Thanksgiving...

Folks living in or near Chicago won't want to miss the Chris White Quartet's October 29 concerts at Winter's Jazz Club. Chris has been among the most ambitious of Guaraldi's torch-bearers; in addition to a busy annual schedule of Charlie Brown Christmas-themed shows — 23 this year! — in recent years he has branched out to include Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving gigs ... along with a Latin-themed Guaraldi set in July 2022.

We love this guy!

Publicity galore!

(Please forgive the total lack of modesty in what follows. I'll try to keep the bubbling enthusiasm under control, but — really — this is new territory.)

The recent — and still upcoming — releases of the new-and-improved score for It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, along with the Super Deluxe five-disc collection of music and studio sessions for A Charlie Brown Christmas, have generated a wholly unexpected degree of interest from some high-profile web and print publications.

I suddenly found myself in demand as a "hot get" interview subject ... which is to say, folks came after me, rather than — as was the case when my Guaraldi biography was published, back in 2012 — my having to cold-call jazz radio stations across the country, hoping to find sympathetic DJs willing to plug the book.

To borrow a marvelous line from Chuck Mangione back in the day, when confronted by a massive sold-out venue that he couldn't have imagined, even a few years earlier: "Mother never said there'd be a day like this."

Taking them in publication order:

I had fun chatting with Tony Sokol, at Den of Geek; some of his questions were a bit silly and arch — as befits their style — but they were just as fun to answer, as his more serious queries.

Erik Adams, at Indiewire, probed deep into the back-story of It's the Great Pumpkin, and he emerged with one of the best-researched, engaging and superbly written stories I've ever encountered.

Next up was something I didn't even realize was on my bucket list, until it occurred: Getting interviewed by Variety was an honor all by itself. The fact that the interviewer was Jon Burlingame — The Man, when it comes to soundtrack history and analysis, and author of numerous books including TV's Biggest Hits, The Music of James Bond, and the upcoming Music for Prime Time (all of which I own, or will own) — was akin to getting an audience with the Dalai Lama. Like, wow...

On a more local level, I shared microphones with Sean and Jason Mendelson for a captivating episode of the public affairs radio show Davisville, hosted by Bill Buchanan. (It's a shame the show couldn't have expanded to include the lively chatter before and after taping, which was just as entertaining and informative.)

And Fate had one more surprise in store. When I received the LP copies of Great Pumpkin and the double-disc Charlie Brown Christmas highlights, I was astonished to see that the promotional sticker, attached to the plastic wrap, cited me for the liner notes. How often does that happen?

My understanding is that one more major publicity/promotional event will live-stream toward the end of this month. Stay tuned...

This definitely isn't a rock!

I've been sitting on this information since December.

Craft Recordings went public with the news today, which makes it fair game for this blog.

As I describe in my fresh liner notes, this is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: the sigh of rapturous satisfaction from Guaraldi fans who for decades believed — nay, insisted — that original Great Pumpkin recording session tapes must exist. Somewhere.

(Yes, I had to borrow a note from one of Charles Schulz's most famous quotes: With this set of liner notes, I had to write the same thing without repeating myself. You can tell me whether I succeeded.)

I guess we can thank Covid.

Assuming one managed to escape getting sick, pandemic-enforced isolation had a few benefits, such as encouraging some of us to finally tackle massive, long-postponed projects of one sort or another. Honestly, what else were we able to do with our time?

The folks over at Lee Mendelson Film Productions spent a year and change spelunking in the darkest corners of their voluminous archives. Marvelous Guaraldi artifacts — some believed lost forever — were unearthed.

This is the first.

Craft's official announcement includes quite a lot of detail, so check it out.

Craft also released a short promo video, which can be seen here. (And I was pleasantly surprised by the shout-out.)

This release actually is better than we could have hoped for, because it includes a number of alternate takes ... and, yes, full-length versions of iconic Peanuts themes heard only partially during the TV special.

"The Great Pumpkin Waltz" (Alternate Take 2) can be heard on various digital platforms, including YouTube.

Barring supply-chain issues, all formats should be available on August 26.

The sole vexing note is that the cover of this new release is almost identical to its inferior 2018 predecessor; fans will need to be extremely careful — particularly with online orders — when purchasing a copy. Yes, the 2022 copyright date is helpful; and yes, the presence of the aforementioned alternates takes, in the track list, is a giveaway. But the quickest distinction is that the 2018 release is called "Music from the soundtrack" (above the album title), whereas the 2022 release is an "Original soundtrack recording."

Even so, I do fear that some casual buyers may not look that closely.

To anticipate the obvious next question, yes, there may be more to come. The Mendelson vaults have yet to be fully archived, and future plans also will depend upon this release's sales (so tell all of your friends and family members to buy one!).

Meanwhile, Linus would be pleased: The Great Pumpkin really did show up this time!

UPDATE 8/26: Although CDs are "in the world" as of today, the street date of the vinyl versions has been bumped back to September 9.

Credits where due

By now, most avid fans know that all existing copies of A Charlie Brown Christmas, going back half a century — whether broadcast on television; or purchased on VHS, DVD or Blu-ray, or from iTunes and other such sources; or streamed — are absent the title credits acknowledgment of Coca-Cola's sponsorship. The credits now conclude after Snoopy blanket-whips Charlie Brown into a tree, with a vocal chorus of "Christmas Time Is Here" fading into silence rather abruptly.

But television viewers back in 1965 — and during the 1966 re-broadcast — got a bit more; Snoopy then blanket-whips Linus into a sign that reads, "Brought to you by the people in your town who bottle Coca-Cola." We also get a more reasonable fade of the song.

Perhaps a bit less well known is the fact that the same thing happens during the end credits, which — in all existing prints — conclude after acknowledging director/producer Lee Mendelson, animator Bill Melendez, and United Feature Syndicate; the gang's cheerful delivery of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" similarly fades rather abruptly. We no longer see the final title card, which reads "Merry Christmas, from the people who bottle Coca-Cola." And, needless to say, the song concludes properly.

Happily, these artifacts have been resurrected by intrepid Internet elves; they can be seen here and here.

Ah, but how many of you know that such shenanigans also compromised the next two Peanuts specials?

After Charlie Brown drops the high fly ball during the opening sequence of Charlie Brown's All-Stars, he dejectedly walks along a fence that credits Charles M. Schulz; he pushes a board up, to walk through the fence ... and that's all we see these days, as the music fades. But the sequence continues for another 10 seconds, as — now on the other side of the fence — poor Chuck trudges past signs that credit Coca-Cola and co-sponsor Dolly Madison Cakes. Check it out here.

(One suspects similar co-sponsor acknowledgments in the end credits, but — if true — they've yet to surface.)

The long-absent bits from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown are even more fun. In all existings versions of this special, the title credits and music fade out after acknowledging Schulz, as an owl flies directly toward the screen. Ah, but the original sequence continues for an additional 17 delightful seconds: first crediting Coca-Cola via a scarecrow, as the panicked gang flees behind it; and then Dolly Madison Cakes, as Snoopy dances atop a pumpkin. Again, the conclusion of Guaraldi's title theme is much more satisfying, as can be seen (and heard) here.

Existing end credits conclude after acknowledging Mendelson, Melendez and United Feature Syndicate; the musical fade is quite abrupt and clumsy. But the infuriated Linus continues to berates Charlie Brown for another 10 seconds, during which Dolly Madison and Coca-Cola are acknowledged ... and, more crucially for us Guaraldi fans, his perky arrangement of "Charlie Brown Theme" comes to a proper conclusion. Check it out here.

I believe this practice ceased when the next special, You're in Love, Charlie Brown, came along in June 1967; by this point, fewer shows and specials were being sponsored by just one or two entities. But I won't be certain until somebody verifies having seen an archival copy of that original broadcast.

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Speaking of A Charlie Brown Christmas, did sharp-eared viewers of the recent Marvel Universe series Hawkeye catch the use of the Guaraldi Trio's "Christmas Time Is Here"? The holiday-themed storyline included quite a few Christmas songs in each episode; Guaraldi's tune — the vocal version, sung by Charlie Brown and his friends — is the first heard in the fifth episode, "Ronin." it begins at 13:40, as Clint walks New York City's late-night streets to Grills' apartment, and continues for about 30 seconds while Grills welcomes him inside.

Needless to say, those showrunners have superb taste in music!

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Shortly after this blog's previous post, the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions added seven more online folios of Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts themes. I supplemented the original list, but of course that post wasn't sent a second time via email, so you wouldn't necessarily know about the additions. Ergo, this is fresh notification that these titles have been added:

• "Bon Voyage"

• "It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown"

• "Charlie Brown's Wake-Up"

• "Charlie Brown's All-Stars"

• "Sassy Sally"

• "Schroeder's Wolfgang"

• "Woodstock's Dream"

You'll find links within the previous post.