Imagine Charlie Brown Without Vince Guaraldi’s Music

There are few cartoons that have as strong a musical component as the Peanuts. You may not know the name Vince Guarladi or the song’s title “Linus and Lucy” but chances are you know the song. It is upbeat and perhaps in your mind’s eye you can see The Peanuts gang dancing to it, jumping and moving their head side from side to side.

In so many ways it is difficult to separate the song from the animated characters, especially this time of the year when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is watched in so many households.

Did you know that this song happened simply because of a drive near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco?

According to a PRI story, writer and producer Lee Mendelson was working on a Charles Schulz documentary when he heard Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Face to the Wind.” Try listening to the song and you’ll see how it influenced Guaraldi’s later work.

“Something in my mind said, ‘That’s the kind of music that I’m looking for,’” Mendelson told PRI, “It’s adult-like, but also child-like. It seemed to fit our characters.”

Mendelson and Guaraldi met and the musician agreed to write a score for the Christmas special that aired in 1965. It was one of the first times that mainstream American audiences were exposed to jazz music and both the cartoon and music became an instant hit. At the time, half of American households watched the special.

So, the next time you watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” enjoy the music, its importance in jazz history and know that this great collaboration of art and music is due to a car drive. 

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