A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving [RSD Essentials Indie Exclusive Pink Jelly Bean], Vince Guaraldi, Vinyl

Vince Guaraldi’s score for “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" came out for the first time ever for the special’s 50thanniversary and charted as a top Jazz, soundtrack and children’s album upon its release, selling out all available copies. The complete soundtrack to the celebrated animated holiday television special, written and created by Charles Schulz, directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman and produced by Melendez and Lee Mendelson, includes the long-awaited release of many of Guaraldi’s classic compositions and performances along with never-before-heard bonus material.

Newly re-discovered in LMFP’s vaults, the original recording sessions for Vince Guaraldi's beloved soundtrack have been remixed and remastered for audiophiles and Peanuts® fans everywhere. The album includes many previously unreleased tracks, several never heard since the Vince Guaraldi Quintet laid them down for the recording session in 1973. All the songs were remastered from the original 2" 16 track source tapes.

This soundtrack from the 1973 holiday classic includes Guaraldi hits from the original sources like the funky brass filled "Linus and Lucy," "Thanksgiving Theme," and the soulful "Little Birdie." You will hear timbres from instruments that were previously buried in the show mix. Furthermore, there are bonus tracks for "Thanksgiving Interlude" demonstrating how Guaraldi crafted his score for the special; an additional keyboard on "Linus and Lucy;" and Guaraldi whistling the melody for "Is It James or Charlie?"

Beyond the composer's piano playing, the quintet is made up of Mike Clark on drums; Seward McCain (longest touring bassist with Guaraldi - holding down the electric bass at Guaraldi's request); Tom Harrell on trumpet to class up the album; and Chuck Bennett on Trombone. This is some of the funkiest Guaraldi you'll hear as his quintet leaned into the East Bay Sound, a type of funk that Mike Clark helped pioneer in the early ’70s. Guaraldi even lends his bluesy voice to introduce Woodstock with "Little Birdie." The album was remix engineered by Terry Carleton, restored and mastered by Vinson Hudson, and produced by Sean and Jason Mendelson. All versions include liner notes by Sean Mendelson and artwork from the original special. This Indie Exclusive repressing comes in a limited and exclusive Pink Jelly Bean variant.