What an anniversary year it is for what experts consider to be the greatest comic strip in history! In fact, one such expert, Mark Evanier, named his new book The Essential Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz: The Greatest Comic Strip of All Time. It’s a spectacular, slip-cased volume filled with collectable artwork and lots more.
But wait, there’s more. Sean and Jason Mendelson, whose father, Lee Mendelson, produced classic Peanuts specials, series, and feature films, have produced three more TV soundtrack albums in addition to the ones we explored in a previous Animation Spin.
YOU’RE A GOOD SPORT, CHARLIE BROWN
Original TV Soundtrack Recording – 50th Anniversary Edition
Lee Mendelson Film Productions LM-25GS01 (Stereo Vinyl 45 RPM LP / Compact Disc / Digital)
Released July 11, 2025, from the Emmy-winning 1975 CBS TV special. Producers: Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson. Music Supervision: John Scott Trotter. Arrangements: Vince Guaraldi. Musicians: Vince Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, clavinet, ARP string ensemble, Rhythm Ace drum machine); Seward McCain (bass); Vince Lateano (drums, percussion). Recorded December 9, 17, 18, 23, and 30, 1974, at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco. Album Mixing: Terry Carleton. Restoration and Mastering: Vinson Hudson. Tape Archiving: John Strother. Liner Notes: Craig Schulz, Derrick Bang, Sean Mendelson, and Jason Mendelson. Package Layout: Megan Rible. Running Time: 42 minutes.
MUSIC: “Motocross,” “Peppermint Patty,” “You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (Centercourt),” “Fanfare,” “Fanfare (Alternate Take),” “Hospital Scene,” “Hospital Scene (Bonus),” “Bass Blues,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Motocross (Reprise),” “You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (Unused Opening Cues Not Heard on the Special),” “The Great Pumpkin Waltz,” “Motocross (2nd Reprise),” “Motocross (3rd Reprise),” “Motocross (4th Reprise),” “Pebble Beach,” “You’re In Love, Charlie Brown (Reprise),” “Motocross (5th Reprise Extended with Additional Piano),” “Lunch Theme,” “Motocross (6th Reprise),” and “You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (Reprise)” by Vince Guaraldi.
ADDITONAL MUSIC: “Bicycles Are Beautiful (Reprise),” “Bicycle Ballad (Medley),” “Bicycle Bounce (and Reprise),” and “Bicycle Wizard (and Reprise)” by Vince Guaraldi.
The newest of the three releases available is also the first Peanuts vinyl record to be pressed with a Zoetrope process that allows you to see a collection of animated scenes from the special as the record rotates.
In the special itself, from the moment Peppermint Patty zoomed onto the scene and announced that motocross is the latest thing, and the gang says “Mo-To Cross?” what followed was based on real-life events of Charles Schulz and his family (as so many of his comic strips were). In liner notes written especially for the album, Schulz’s son Craig remembers his dad attending his motocross events.
The vinyl and CD editions come with a wealth of other notes, as do all of the recent releases, along with special art from the films. The Mendel-sons wrote some of them, along with Vince Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang, author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano.
BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN
Original TV Soundtrack Recording – 50th Anniversary Edition
Lee Mendelson Film Productions LM-25BMV01 (Stereo Vinyl 33 RPM LP / Compact Disc / Digital)
Released January 17, 2025, from the Emmy-nominated 1975 CBS TV special. Producers: Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson. Music Supervision: John Scott Trotter. Arrangements: Vince Guaraldi. Musicians: Vince Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord, electric guitar); Seward McCain (bass); Robert Clare (flute), Glenn Cronkite (drums), Eliot Zigmund (drums). Recorded September 12, 18, and 19, 1974, at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco. Album Mixing: Clark Germain. Restoration and Mastering: Vinson Hudson. Tape Archiving: John Strother. Liner Notes: Derrick Bang, Sean Mendelson, and Jason Mendelson. Package Layout: Megan Rible. Running Time: 29 minutes.
MUSIC: “Heartburn Waltz,” “Heartburn Waltz (Reprise),” “Linus and Lucy,” “Valentine Interlude #1,” “Heartburn Waltz (2nd Reprise),” “Heartburn Waltz (3rd Reprise),” “Paw Pet Overture,” “Heartburn Waltz (4th Reprise),” “Never Again,” “Woodstock’s Mambo,” “Heartburn Waltz (5th Reprise),” “Jennie L,” “Heartburn Waltz (6th Reprise),” “Valentine Interlude #2,” “Heartburn Waltz (7th Reprise),” “There’s Been a Change,” “Woodstock’s Revenge,” “Charlie Brown’s Wake-Up,” “Heartburn Waltz (8th Reprise),” and “Freddie’s Mood (Show Version)” by Vince Guaraldi.
CLASSICAL MUSIC: “Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49 No. 2 – 1, Allegro ma non troppo” by Ludwig van Beethoven,” “Freddie’s Mood (Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2)” by Frederic Chopin; and “Music Box Dance (Bach’s Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116)” by Johann Sebastian Bach.
ADDITIONAL MUSIC: “Heartburn Waltz (Bonus Mix),” Jennie L. (Alternate Take),” “Heartburn Waltz (Alternate Take),” “Woodstock’s Mambo (Bonus Mix),” “Heartburn Waltz (Reprise) (Bonus Mix),” “There’s Been a Change (Alternate Take),” “Heartburn Waltz (5th Reprise) (Bonus Mix),” “Last Call for Love” by Vince Guaraldi.
If you remember watching each new Peanuts special and noticing how Guaraldi retained many of his themes and the overall jazz styles, but constantly experimented with new sounds and instrumentations, you will be transported back to 1975 the moment the record starts. All of the soundtracks combine new themes with all-time favorites. Guaraldi, music supervisor John Scott Trotter (who arranged and conducted Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”) and the musicians offer ever-changing twists on such themes as “Linus and Lucy,” as well as clever ways to work classical themes into the scores, in this case, melodies from Bach and, of course, Beethoven.
IT’S THE EASTER BEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN
Original TV Soundtrack Recording – Peanuts 75th Anniversary Edition
Lee Mendelson Film Productions LM-25EB01 (Stereo Vinyl 33 RPM LP / Compact Disc / Digital)
Released April 12, 2025, from the Emmy-nominated 1974 CBS TV special. Producers: Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson. Music Supervision: John Scott Trotter. Musicians: Vince Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord, electric guitar); Seward McCain (bass); Robert Clare (flute), Glenn Cronkite (drums), Eliot Zigmund (drums). Recorded January 30 and March 1, 1974, at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco. Album Mixing: Clark Germain. Restoration and Mastering: Vinson Hudson. Liner Notes: Derrick Bang, Sean Mendelson, and Jason Mendelson. Package Layout: Megan Rible. Zoetrope Design: Drew Tetz. Running Time: 29 minutes.
MUSIC: “Peppermint Patty,” “Easter Theme,” “Easter Theme (Reprise),” “Snoopy and Woodstock,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Woodstock’s Dream,” “Snoopy’s Gumballs,” “Sally and Linus,” “Woodstock’s Dream (Reprise),” “Marcie’s Song (Kitchen Music),” “Linus and Lucy (Reprise),” “Woodstock’s Pad,” “Woodstock’s Dream (2nd Reprise),” “Woodstock’s Dream (3rd Reprise),” “Easter Egg Soup (Kitchen Music #2),” “Linus and Lucy (2nd Reprise),” “Linus and Lucy (3rd Reprise),” “Salting Eggs,” “Linus and Lucy (4th Reprise),” and “Freddie’s Mood (Show Version)” by Vince Guaraldi.
CLASSICAL MUSIC: “Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3 – I. Allegro con brio,” “Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 – II, Allegreto,” “Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 – I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace” by Ludwig van Beethoven, and “Music Box Dance (Bach’s Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116)” by Johann Sebastian Bach.
ADDITIONAL MUSIC: “Woodstock Medley (“Woodstock’s Wake-Up,” “Little Birdie,” “Woodstock’s Dream,” “Thanksgiving Theme,” and “Little Birdie (Reprise)” by Vince Guaraldi, recorded by David Benoit, Seward McCain, and Mike Clark.
It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is a personal favorite, particularly because of its unique and eclectic musical score. There’s a little bit of everything, including Guaraldi’s “Easter Theme,” an ethereal composition unlike anything in other Peanuts films. Hearing it in full stereo was something I never expected to experience.
The Easter special itself, like all of the best Peanuts films, contains “wait-for-it” sequcnces like the gang’s adventures in a department store, with Snoopy on one escalator and everyone else on the other, the exquisite music box dance, and Marcie’s recipe for egg soup.
All of these albums have striking cover designs. The front covers follow a fresh, yet traditional look, usually with the title near the top, or at least visible from the top third, with a bold image underneath. This was the way albums usually appeared, so that they could be seen immediately as people flipped through record store bins or spotted them on displays.
And there are more on the way!
“It’s Your TV Soundtrack, Charlie Brown!”
I have just premiered a second podcast in addition to The Funtastic World of Hanna and Barbera. The new one is called POP Culture Classics, and both are available on all the major streaming services. The first episode of POP Culture Classics features Sean and Jason Mendelson, with fascinating details about the Peanuts soundtrack album, plus memories of their dad, Peanuts and Garfield TV producer Lee Mendelson, Charles Schulz, Vince Guaraldi, and their families.
GREG EHRBAR is a freelance writer/producer for television, advertising, books, theme parks and stage. Greg has worked on content for such studios as Disney, Warner and Universal, with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. His numerous books include Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records (with Tim Hollis). Visit 
It pains me to have to relate that the famous Minuet in G, long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, was actually composed by someone else. Bach included it in the second of the two music notebooks that he compiled for his wife, Anna Magdalena; the first notebook is entirely Bach’s own work, but the second contains an appendix of easy little pieces by anonymous composers, intended for use in their children’s music lessons. The Minuet in G was actually written by one Christian Petzold, an organist and composer active in Dresden, with whom Bach shared several mutual friends. When Petzold died, Bach’s eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, took over his position as organist.
Just to be clear, the ARP String Ensemble played by Vince Guaraldi on “You’re a Good Sport” was the brand name of an electronic keyboard put out by ARP Instruments, Inc., an important, though short-lived, manufacturer of synthesizers in the 1970s. (The first synthesizer I ever used was an ARP, but by the time I got my hands on it, the company had already gone bankrupt thanks to competition from Yamaha, Roland, et al.) Guaraldi didn’t direct an ensemble of actual string players, though I’m sure he was perfectly capable of doing so had the budget allowed for one.
I don’t know if the mistake is on the album covers, but the drummer “Glenn Cronkite” is actually Glenn Cronkhite, with an H, founder of a very successful company that manufactures cases for musical instruments. He’s not related to newscaster Walter Cronkite.
The Zoetrope process on the first disc sounds like something I’d enjoy seeing in action. Too bad my last turntable broke down nearly 40 years ago, whereupon I replaced it with a CD player.
I’m lovin’ the artwork on these album covers and know all the music will be just as much fun!
It’s wonderful to know these soundtracks are not being forgotten and ignored. in the late 60s and early 70s, the Peanuts characters were everywhere–beach towels. lunch boxes, wristwatches, drinking glasses, board games, and novelty items of every description. In recent years, it has appeared that the characters, the comic strip, the television specials, and so forth were overshadowed by other popular trends. Now, with the release of these albums and the new book, it looks like a revival may be upon us. I guess you can’t keep a good Charlie Brown down!
Guaraldi certainly deserves a place in pop culture history. If he had composed nothing else but the classic “Linus and Lucy” theme, his greatness would have been assured, but he created so much more to provide rich listening experiences to generations. Some credit should go to Schulz, too, and Mendelson and Melendez, for their foresight in choosing a talented jazz musician and composer as the musical voice of the comic strip characters. Every composer since who has worked on scores for Peanuts has certainly owed much to the work of Guaraldi.
I hope this trend continues! I can’t wait to see more Peanuts merchandise on store shelves! And I’m delighted to know that there are more sound tracks coming!
I pre-ordered the huge “75th Aniiversary” Blu-Ray set of Peanuts specials. “Peanuts” and “Pogo” have always been my favorite comic strips.
You know Charles M. Schulz came up with the name “Peppermint Patty” because he thought it was a good name for a comic strip character, and he decided to use that name before anybody else thought of it?
“Bill” Melendez… Jose Cuauhtemoc Melendez. What a great name!
I REMEMBER BUYING LOST CUES VOLUMES 1 AND 2 FROM ITUNES!! Those were some of my first purchases, and I listened to them about 30 times each. Then I learned those were compressed audio files and those will never sound like a proper CD rip…….. but that’s a different story. I wanted to buy the CDs for some time, but they were both VERY out of print, and became VERY expensive. These 3 releases seem to contain at least half of those tracks. Motorcross is one of the coolest tunes Vince Guaraldi ever did. It’s basically techno jazz.