Happy Birthday Vince. Snoopy say's, "hi."
As you may or may not know, Vince Guaraldi is a famous American Jazz musician, San Francisco born and raised. (I wonder if he was ever a street musician.) You've all heard his works, I'm sure. Ever heard of Charles Schultz' comic strip "Peanuts"? Ever seen a Charlie Brown cartoon? If you answered yes to either of those, then chances are, you know who he is, even if his name escapes you.
Well, today, July 17th, was Vince Guaraldi's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINCE!
Vince would have been 81 years old today. Sadly, he died at an early age: of a heart attack in 1976. He was only 47 years old.
What he left behind, however, lifts the spirits, speaks of festivity and gentle times, of times of fun. It speaks of Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcy, Snoopy, Woodstock, Pig Pen, Schroeder, and the rest of the gang.
This is how it all began:
"While searching for just the right music to accompany a planned Peanuts television documentary, Lee Mendelson (the producer of the special) heard a single version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Vince Guaraldi's trio on the radio while traveling in a taxicab on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Mendelson contacted Ralph J. Gleason, jazz columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and was put in touch with Guaraldi. He proposed that Guaraldi score the upcoming Peanuts Christmas special and Guaraldi enthusiastically took the job, performing a version of what became "Linus and Lucy" over the phone two weeks later. The soundtrack was recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, whose other members were bassist Fred Marshall (who later married Bev Bivens of the folk-rock group We Five) and drummer Jerry Granelli. Guaraldi went on to compose scores for sixteen Peanuts television specials and the documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Click here for more info."
In honor of Vince, here are some memories of childhood days gone by, family game night, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas decorating, Caroling, and Charlie Brown specials.
We'll start off with a bit of music and bio.
And here's some not so familiar Vince...
And of course there's one of the all time favorites from the Christmas special, here played by Vince himself... on guitar!
And of course there's one of the all time favorites from the Christmas special, here played by Vince himself... on guitar!
I found this interesting related info: The Eric Mintel Quarted (or EMQ) performs the music of Vince Guaraldi, while Peanuts specials play on the big screen. For more info go to http://www.ericmintelquartet.com/charliebrown.html
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