Vince Guaraldi | "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown"

Legendary Jazz Pianist and Composer Vince Guaraldi’s

Soundtrack to the 1974 Animated Classic,

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

“It is always a treat to hear vintage jazz for the first time. It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! Is another glimpse into the artistic contribution of Vince Guaraldi and the beloved Peanuts legacy.” — Audiophile Audition

“Holy Moly! This was recorded in 1974?!” That was the first thing that came out of my mouth when the needle of my cartridge first met the 45 RPM musical grooves of “It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!” The transfer and mastering job done on these previously unreleased music tracks and cues from the classic television special is quite simply phenomenal.” — Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

“This seamless fusion of classical music with Vince Guaraldi’s jazz genius is what makes It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown such a unique and delightful experience. Whether it’s a groovy bass riff, a subtle chord progression, or a surprising classical influence, there’s always something new to discover beneath the surface.” — Sandbox World

The complete score to the Peanuts® animated special, plus a bonus Peanuts® medley honoring Guaraldi’s Woodstock themed compositions, performed by legends David Benoit and Guaraldi sidemen Seward McCain and Mike Clark

Available Today from Lee Mendelson Film Productions

on black 12” 45 RPM LP (BioVinyl), CD, and digital

Order here

Additionally, 2000 individually hand-numbered limited edition, indie-exclusive, “Easter Purple” 12” 45 RPM BioVinyl LP albums will be available ONLY AT INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES. Past limited variants have sold out almost immediately.

Also available April 12, 2025 – a Record Store Day Exclusive – 10” die-cut, egg-shaped “Selections from It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” will arrive just in time for the holiday in one of five mystery colors. Includes the eight best songs from the album. The limited release eggs are foil-stamped and individually numbered. Perfect for your Easter basket!

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the first ever release of the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, the timeless 12th animated Peanuts® special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Phil Roman, and producers Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Originally airing over fifty years ago on April 9th, 1974, on CBS-TV, it went on to be nominated for an Emmy® for Outstanding Children’s program. The special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

The full soundtrack album includes the original 25 cues that comprise the score of the special – mixed into 19 tracks, most of which are available for the first time – plus a bonus track, “Woodstock Medley.” This brand-new performance recorded in 2021 brings together two of Guaraldi’s original sidemen from 50 years ago: Mike Clark (drums) and Seward McCain (bassist) – who toured extensively and played on Peanuts® specials – joined David Benoit, the Grammy®-nominated jazz pianist, to play in the same studio in San Francisco where the original sessions were recorded 50 years prior. The medley features these classic Peanuts themes: “Thanksgiving Theme,” “Little Birdie,” “Woodstock’s Wake-Up,” and “Woodstock’s Dream.”

Some highlights of the album include the title track, “Easter Theme;” four variations of the centerpiece “Woodstock’s Dream,” a glorious piece that’s partly pop and partly jazz; new takes on the classic “Linus and Lucy” and “Peppermint Patty;” the groovy “Snoopy and Woodstock;” the tasteful “Marcie’s Song” and “Easter Egg Soup;” the shag carpet charm of “Woodstock’s Pad;” and even some classical pieces like Bach’s “Piano Sonata no. 3” and the first two movements of Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony given a Guaraldified treatment.

For the first time, these melodies can be fully appreciated, not hidden underneath dialogue or effects from the special.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, clavinet, ARP String Ensemble electric harpsichord and guitar), Seward McCain (bass), Glenn Cronkhite and Eliot Zigmund (drums), and John Scott Trotter as the music supervisor. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; mixed at WonderWorld Studio by Grammy® and Emmy® Award-Winning mixing engineer Clark Germain and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

The album is available today. Order here. The 28-minute album is available on black vinyl (12” BioVinyl), CD, and digitally.

The full soundtrack will also be available in Easter Purple 45 RPM (12” BioVinyl) from independent records stores only. Limited to 2000 individually numbered copies. Order here.

The full soundtrack LPs are eco-minded: they are made with BioVinyl, a new and unique product that replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste. For more information about our sustainability efforts, please see LMFP’s website.

The physical copies include liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and notes from record producers Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson, sons of legendary Peanuts® producer Lee Mendelson. The liner notes contain images from the special, and rare photographs and images from the original tape boxes recently re-discovered that led to this release.

Find participating stores and more information about orders here or order from the MVDshop here .

For an extended version of the press release and more information, including the track list, click here .

2025 marks the 75th Anniversary of Peanuts®.

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording – Peanuts 75^th Anniversary Edition) joins the tremendously successful Peanuts® discography, which includes A Charlie Brown Christmas, the 5x Platinum-Certified Album that Billboard called the “Greatest Holiday Album of All Time,”

along with recently released Guaraldi soundtracks for

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (2022),

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (2023),

It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, (2024),

You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (2024), and

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (2025)

“This special has always been a holiday favorite for the audiences – and this music includes completely underappreciated tracks that will get you moving and grooving to some of Guaraldi’s greatest scoring” – Jason Mendelson, producer of the album and son of Peanuts® producer Lee Mendelson.

“Guaraldi favored electric keyboards on this score, with varied cues that are as larkish as the on-screen action.” — from the liner notes by Derrick Bang, author,

Vince Guaraldi at the Piano

“’Woodstock’s Dream’ happens to be one of my favorite Peanuts Guaraldi cues, and it’s the most pervasive theme of this show. It leans into a pop sensibility; with just a few chords changes, he makes a vibrant and memorable melody.”

— From the liner notes by Sean Mendelson, producer of the album.

About Peanuts:

The characters of Peanuts and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, which is 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd., 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by the family of Charles M. Schulz, who first introduced the world to Peanuts in 1950, when the comic strip debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular culture. In addition to enjoying beloved Peanuts shows and specials on Apple TV+, fans of all ages celebrate the Peanuts brand worldwide through thousands of consumer products, as well as amusement park attractions, cultural events, social media, and comic strips available in all formats, from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students.

About Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc.:

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is the Publisher of the Vince Guaraldi musical catalog associated with Peanuts. LMFP is also the producer of the classic Peanuts television specials, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, along with the Hollywood animation studio Bill Melendez Productions. LMFP also produced over 50 other network Peanuts specials, 12 prime time Garfield specials, 121-program series “Garfield and Friends” and many other film and television animated, documentary and entertainment programs. Founded by the late Lee Mendelson in 1963, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc., has received 11 Emmy Awards (from 45 nominations) and four Peabody Awards, as well as producing projects that have received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions presents the promotional video for “Woodstock Medley” – bonus track on Vince Guaraldi’s “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording – Peanuts 75th Anniversary Edition)” (out March 21, 2025). The Medley is comprised of four classic Guaraldi themes from three Peanuts special’s scores and was arranged by Grammy(r) nominated jazz pianist David Benoit. Benoit plays piano and Fender Rhodes along with Guaraldi’s sidemen from the 70s, Mike Clark (drums) and Seward McCain (bass and flute) in the very same recording studio in San Francisco where Guaraldi recorded the scores for Peanuts 50 years prior.

Vince Guaraldi · It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

(Original Soundtrack Recording – Peanuts 75 ^th Anniversary Edition)

Available Today

Vinyl, CD, and Digital

Order here

AND

Record Store Day exclusive egg-shaped mystery color

“Selections from It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown”

By Vince Guaraldi

available April 12, 2025

Find stores and more information at recordstoreday.com.

For more information on Lee Mendelson Film Productions, please visit: