This is Paul Tobey's version of the classic
song Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi and is the Charlie
Brown Theme Song from Charlie Brown's Christmas
Special. It was recorded at a live concert
in October of 2003 and has been performed numerous times
by Paul at his live concerts and popular Christmas shows.
Sorry,
due to negotiations with the publisher we can no longer
offer Linus and Lucy Sheet Music, we apologize for any
inconvenience.
Though he was best known for composing
the music for the popular animated Peanuts television
holiday specials, Vince Guaraldi was a Grammy award-winning
jazz pianist prior to the Peanuts series. Nevertheless,
his most-recognized tune by far is "Linus
and Lucy" from A Charlie Brown Christmas,
a song which is known by fans worldwide as the musical
signature of the Peanuts franchise.
Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" won
a Grammy in the category "Best Original Jazz Composition."
The track appears on the 1962 album Jazz Impressions
of Black Orpheus, inspired by the French/Brazilian film
"Black Orpheus," which won an Oscar for Best
Foreign Picture.
While searching for just the right music to accompany
a planned Peanuts Christmas special, Charles Schulz
(the creator of the Peanuts comic strip) and Lee Mendelson
(the producer of the special) heard a live club performance
of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Vince Guaraldi's
trio on the radio while traveling in a taxicab on the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Schulz
demanded to be taken to the club immediately [citation
needed] and introduced himself to Mr. Guaraldi after
the set. He proposed the idea of Mr. Guaraldi scoring
the upcoming Peanuts Christmas special and Mr. Guaraldi
enthusiastically took the job. He went on to compose
scores for sixteen Peanuts television specials, and
the feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Most of
them contained the popular music Linus and Lucy.
Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack at age 47 on
February 6, 1976. He was found in a room at the Red
Cottage Inn hotel, relaxing between sets at Butterfield's
nightclub in Menlo Park, California. Guaraldi had just
finished recording the soundtrack for It's Arbor Day,
Charlie Brown earlier that afternoon.
After Guaraldi's death, the music for the Peanuts series
was composed by noted jazz musician David Benoit, who
has often credited Guaraldi and the original Peanuts
Christmas special music for his interest in jazz.
