Vince Guaraldi's Soundtrack for IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN Available This Friday

For the first time ever, the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown will be released on Friday, July 5. Originally airing on September 27, 1969 on CBS-TV, the timeless 6th animated Peanuts® special from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

The album includes the original recordings that comprise the song cues of the special, plus another six bonus or alternative tracks that have never been released or heard before.

Guaraldi lovingly created the soundtrack for the summer camp adventure where Charlie Brown and his gang face off against the girls’ camp led by Peppermint Patty. The large jazz combo performances on the album include the best rendition of the Guaraldi classic, “Love Will Come (Nova Bossa),” as well as the first use of an additional percussionist, Victor Feldman.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano), Monty Budwig (double bass), Jack Sperling (drums), Conti and Pete Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Victor Feldman (percussion), Herb Ellis (guitar), Willian Hood and Peter Christlieb (woodwind), and John Scott Trotter as the orchestra leader. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

The album will be available July 5, 2024 including an exclusive variant in Summer Night Blue 45 RPM LP from Record Store Day Indie Exclusive, available at participating stores and for pre-order here

A 12” 45 RPM LP in black, a CD of all 31 tracks, and a complete digital release will also be available. 

The physical copies will have liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and notes from Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson, sons of Peanuts® producer Lee Mendelson and co-producers of the record. The LP liner notes are 4 pages, and the CD liner notes are 8 pages. The release includes images from the special and from the original tape boxes recently re-discovered that led to this release.

Find participating stores and more information about pre-orders here or pre-order from MVDSHOP here.

Album producers Jason and Sean Mendelson sat down for a long-form interview with Heath Holland from Cereal at Midnight for a YouTube interview about the wide release of the soundtrack album for "It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown"

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