IT’S THE EASTER BEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN Soundtrack Now Available

For the first time, the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, is now available. 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 7th 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 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.