It’s nearly impossible to think about Peanuts without immediately thinking of the iconic songs that accompany the animated specials. It is well known that Vince Guaraldi is responsible for the scores that have become forever attached Charlie Brown and the gang. However, what is less known is that this perfect pairing came to be due to a never-aired TV documentary from 1964 called “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” which centered around Charles Schultz and his comic strip. Producer Lee Mendelson had just finished his documentary “A Man Named Mays” about baseball star Willie Mays and decided to explore the world of Peanuts and Charles Schultz. He needed someone to score the documentary and heard Guaraldi on the radio and knew that he was the man for the job. Though the documentary was never aired, the soundtrack was still released by Fantasy Records as Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown and as such the iconic relationship between Peanuts and Guaraldi was cemented.
Craft Recordings has reissued the soundtrack for A Boy Named Charlie Brown as they continue their series of Peanuts recordings. The newly remastered audio is cut from the original analog tapes and is being released in three color variants. Target’s release will be a green grass color while Vinyl Me, Please will carry a sky-blue variant and Craft Recordings will have a limited run of baseball mitt brown in their store. The classic title contained the first version of “Linus and Lucy” which appears again in the animated classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and is the most iconic track linked to Peanuts. “Linus and Lucy” instantly transports the listener to that iconic scene of the entire Peanuts cast dancing on stage while Schroeder plays his toy piano. Other tracks like “Baseball Theme” would later be found in specials like “Charlie Brown All-Stars”.
Craft Recordings reissue also contains eight baseball cards of Charlie Brown and his friends. Snoopy, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Lucy, Franklin, Schroeder and Charlie Brown all appear with their stats, position and favorite sandwich printed on the back. The album also contains a narrative about the never aired documentary by its writer-producer-director, Lee Mendelson that details the project and gives insight into Peanuts itself. Reading the back, one discovers that Charlie Brown is actually Charles Schultz! The reissue captures the moment when Peanuts came alive through music and is a must own for any fan of Peanuts.
