YOU'RE NOT ELECTED, CHARLIE BROWN Soundtrack Available Now

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) has released – for the first time ever – the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, the timeless 8th animated Peanuts® special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Originally airing on October 29, 1972 on CBS-TV, the special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

All versions of the album include the original 16 recordings that comprise the song cues of the special – with extended performances never available before now – plus another nine bonus or alternative tracks never heard before.

Guaraldi brought Dixieland jazz, his classic favorites, and even his voice (for the first time in a Peanuts special) to the score for Linus’s campaign for student body president.

Some highlights include: the complete (over five minutes) “Joe Cool” where Guaraldi sings about one of Snoopy’s most famous alter egos; multiple versions of “Incumbent Waltz” written for the special; probably his saddest tune in “Deserted Charlie Brown”; classic "Linus and Lucy" updated for the ’70s; and several of the eponymous “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown” tunes. There are bonus tracks for “Joe Cool,” alternate takes of songs like “Blue Charlie Brown” and a bonus of “African Sleigh Ride,” which they ended up recording a different version of for a later special.

When the session tapes were rediscovered, it became apparent that many of the songs had been cut down or edited (or replaced) for time or feel within the special for its final edit. This release resurrects many of those performances to their original full length. And for the first time they can be appreciated on their own, not underneath dialogue or effects from the special.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, vocals and guitar), Seward McCain (bass and flute), Tom Harrell (trumpet), Glenn Cronkhite (drums), Mel Martin (woodwinds), Pat O‘Hara (trombone) and John Scott Trotter as the music supervisor. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; remixed at Bones and Knives by Terry Carleton and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

The album includes an exclusive vinyl variant in Woodstock Yellow LP via Record Store Day Indie Exclusive, available at participating stores to order here. A 12” LP in black, a CD of all 25 tracks, and a complete digital release is also available. 

The records and CDs are all eco-minded: The records are made with BioVinyl, a new and unique product that replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste. There will be a 100% CO2 savings compared to traditional PVC vinyl, without sacrificing any acoustic or optical quality. Each record comes in a reusable, compostable PLA bag that is made from 99% renewable material, and the jacket, label, and liner notes are all made from sustainably forested trees for minimum ecological harm. The CDs are also made of recycled material, and their paper inserts are from sustainably forested trees as well.

The physical copies include liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and notes from Sean Mendelson, son of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson and co-producer of the record. The LP liner notes are four pages, the CD liner notes are eight pages, and all versions contain images from the special. The LP release also includes rare photographs and images from the original tape boxes recently re-discovered that led to this release.

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