Commentary, discussions and random thoughts about San Francisco-born jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, 
beloved by many — including those who recognize his music, but not his name — and affectionately known as Dr. Funk
I knew it was coming. I knew we were close. By the end of last year, the rumblings were getting louder. And now ... it has happened. Break out the champagne! As of today — August 13, 2026 — the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has officially certified Vince Guaraldi's 1965 soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas as sextuple platinum, meaning six million units of sales... ...making…
Lee Mendelson Film Productions just issued its official press release concerning the debut release of Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack for the 11th animated Peanuts TV special, It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown . It can be viewed here . It includes quite a few more details than I had in my initial post, back on May 19 , and in the June 11 follow-up . Most importantly, some of the release dates have…
Two years and change have passed since I last addressed the topic of other jazz artists doing covers of Guaraldi compositions, back in this original post . To recap, the goal is to compile an ever-expanding list of jazz artists who've recorded a) original tribute compositions honoring Guaraldi; and b) covers of Guaraldi compositions other than "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and the Charlie Brown…
July 17 was Vince Guaraldi’s 98th birthday, and — since his first publicized gig was an April 1951 booking at San Francisco’s Cable Car Village, as a member of tenor saxman Chuck Travis’ quartet — this year marks the 75th anniversary of Vince’s professional career. That was two excellent excuses for the sensational all-Guaraldi set presented Sunday evening, July 19, by pianist Jim Martinez’s…
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…
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…
This publicity photo of the Vince Guaraldi Trio — with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums — likely was taken during the combo's early 1962 booking at The Trident. Alas, another link to Guaraldi’s past has disappeared. I just learned that the newest incarnation of The Trident closed on December 31, thanks to this San Francisco Chronicle article . Back in July 2020, I wrote an extensive…
Fifty years ago today, likely in the late afternoon, Vince Guaraldi would have smiled in satisfaction. He and his trio members — Seward McCain, bass; and Jim Zimmerman, drums — had just completed the third and final recording session for the 15th Peanuts TV special, It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown , at San Francisco’s Wally Heider Studio. They probably had dinner together: either somewhere in the…
Vince Guaraldi's first known gig, on my timeline, was at San Francisco's Cable Car Village, as part of saxman Chuck Travis' Quartet. The booking began on April 12, 1951, and ran for an unknown number of days, or weeks. That makes this year — 2026 — the diamond anniversary of the world's initial exposure to Dr. Funk's popular and immediately recognizable music. Bearing that in mind, the folks at…
We’re scarcely into the new year, and the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions already have new treats for fans of vinyl variants. This Friday, January 16, will see the release of two new versions of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown . The first, a Record Store Day Indie exclusive shown at left, is a heart-shaped 45 RPM disc packaged in a Valentines Day card invitation. It can be pre-ordered here…
This post originally appeared back in December 2012, and was updated in 2016, 2019 and 2024. Since this seems to be an exponentially expanding topic -- and because adding to the original posts wouldn't call attention to the enhanced information, and since newer readers wouldn't know anything about the older versions -- this year brings yet another "repeat performance" with additional material. The…
Vince would be so gob-smacked. By mid-December of 2023, this annual round-up of Guaraldi-themed concerts had grown to an astonishing 171 entries — several of which cited multiple bookings for the given group — which was a massive jump over 2022. It covered 37 American states, four Canadian provinces and two venues in the UK (London and Dublin). Last December was a bit more modest, with "only" 142…
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.)…
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…
The morning of Sunday, August 31, was sunny and mild in bucolic Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania: a lovely, late-summer day that would top out at a comfortable 75 degrees. When Constant Companion Gayna, our friend Scott and I arrived at the First Presbyterian Church at 8:30, the place already was bustling: chairs being placed, programs being stacked, and all manner of other duties necessary for the…
Holy Communion Blues! In addition to being a monumental general announcement, this is a shout-out to Guaraldi fans who live in or near Pennsylvania. Longtime readers of this blog will recall the marvelous summer of 2015, when not one — but two! — 50th anniversary presentations of Vince Guaraldi's Jazz Mass took place: the first, a concert event , in none other than San Francisco's Grace Cathedral;…
...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…
This 75th Peanuts anniversary year gets better and better! On top of which, this also marks the 50th anniversary of You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown , which won an Emmy Award after its debut back on October 28, 1975. It was the 14th Peanuts special to feature a Guaraldi score. The special's story, inspired by Schulz's son Craig's then-interest in motocross, finds Charlie Brown and Peppermint…
I’ve played piano since childhood, although I never rose beyond the level necessary to perform for local community theater productions. Even so, I’ve continued to dabble, and of course have purchased every Guaraldi songbook or sheet music single that came to my attention. I started young. In the late '60s and early ’70s, Pointer Publications, a division of what then was Hal Leonard/Pointer…
No surprise; yet another treat has been announced for this, Peanuts' 75th anniversary year. Seven years ago, almost to the day, Omnivore Recordings announced the release of The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings (encompassing Vince ’s three Warner Bros.-Seven Arts albums: Oh, Good Grief!, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and Alma-Ville ), as a two-CD set with four previously unreleased bonus…
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…
Two new YouTube goodies absolutely deserve your attention. The first is the most recent episode of Heath Holland’s Cereal at Midnight podcast, an ongoing program that he cheerfully describes as “the culmination of an entire lifetime of nerdy pursuits.” That’s a fair descriptor of many episodes, but I wouldn’t call this one nerdy. With an assist from Jason and Sean Mendelson, and timed to the…
Following this month's earlier announcement of a Record Day Exclusive edition of the previously unreleased alternate takes from the original recording sessions that produced 1964's Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown , Craft Recordings has just announced the expanded edition of that classic album, to help celebrate this 75th anniversary year of Peanuts. Available for pre-order today on…
Guaraldi fans are in for quite a treat, when April 12 — Record Store Day — rolls around. We’re already primed for the upcoming release of It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown , as detailed in this earlier post . But as an additional bonus, the folks at Lee Mendelson Film Productions have just announced a Record Day exclusive of this album: individually foil-stamped and numbered, on — are you…
After 2023 produced only a single vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas , we wondered if the "multiple variants" fad had concluded. Answer: definitely not. 2024 gave us four variants, as detailed in this earlier post . And those multiple variants clearly had an impact on sales and chart position. The album returned to the Billboard 200 on November 16, entering at #170. The subsequent results:…