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Vince Guaraldi — Linus and Lucy
Album: The Definitive Vince Guaraldi
Avg rating:
8.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 4300









Released: 1965
Length: 3:00
Plays (last 30 days): 4
(Instrumental)
Comments (550)add comment
Timeless.
I love his style of playing!
How can you not rate this a 10..?
Ah, it's the holiday season: time to play this timeless classic piece of American Jazz!

10's all around.  
 idiot_wind wrote:

Oh boy...

Christmas time is coming. 



When you hear this in the air you know it's time to check your credit card balance and see how much damage you're ready to take on for loved ones....
Oh boy...

Christmas time is coming. 

Fantastic. Thank you so much, On_The_Beach!

deepwoodskev wrote:

merrickw wrote:




Can't believe I never realized after all of these years that
there are two of the same girls in the purple dresses doing the same
dance. Was it intentional that they be twins? Or was this a production
gaffe? Hmmmm.....



On_The_Beach wrote:


OK, I realize this is way too much information, but
your observation made me curious and I found the answer online, thanks
to Pops Gustav:

I would wager that I cradle A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS as close to my geeky breast as anyone on the planet (I could
stage a one-man show of the darn thing… just ask my friends). But there
was always something that slightly nagged at me. There are three kids in
the show who were unidentified. Who were the twin girls and
the spiky haired kid who does that shoulder-head-bob dance at the
school play? Were they just unnamed extra characters used to fill up
space? Or did they have identities?

Well, Volume 7 of Fantagraphics’ indispensable COMPLETE PEANUTS (1963-64, covering, ahem,
the year I was born) has solved the riddle. On Monday, Sept. 30, 1963,
Linus and Charlie Brown meet the spiky haired kid… whose name is… 5.
Actually, it’s 555 95472, but everyone calls him 5 for short.

And the twins? They’re 5’s sisters,
whom we meet some weeks later on October 17th. Their names? 3 and 4.
(Predating SEINFELD’s gag about George naming his kid 7 by decades).

The numerically-named siblings were Charles Schulz’s commentary on the
ever-increasing use of numbers to identify individuals, from Social
Security to zip codes to expanded phone numbers. There are a few funny
strips surrounding the kids (such as the one in which Snoopy, who has
problems with names, isn’t sure if it’s 5 or V), but it seems as if
Schulz came to feel that they were one-note jokes. They didn’t disappear
from the strip altogether (5 makes appearances through the end of the
book), but, as in the Christmas cartoon, they quickly become relegated
to tertiary status in the Peanuts universe.

It’s also interesting to note that their last name, 95472 is their zip code… which
would place them in Sebastopol, California. So, did the kids just move
from the west coast to Charlie Brown’s unnamed, but very seasonal
neighborhood? Or does it snow in Sebastapol California? Hmm…

Only future volumes will tell how long 3, 4 and 5 stayed in the ‘hood, but
it’s nice to now be able to fully identify every single character in A
CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. Although in all honesty, I can’t tell 3 and 4
apart at all.

popsgustav.com




 lily34 wrote:


*bump*

go schroeder.

i always think of being on a train when i hear this.


Probably because of Mr. Rogers train segment. LOL
please no Charlie brown
 ImaOldman wrote:

Wow, 8.5 rating! Has to be one of the highest rated songs on RP.




BUT, should easily be a 10!
 merrickw wrote:



*bump*

go schroeder.

i always think of being on a train when i hear this.
 Roku wrote:

my husband is in hospital dying and will not be coming home - music is my medicine . This is just what I needed.  So cheerful.




I wish you all of my best, during this trying time!!!
 drewd wrote:


Looks kinda like a Phish concert.



LOL!!   
 merrickw wrote:



Looks kinda like a Phish concert.
my husband is in hospital dying and will not be coming home - music is my medicine . This is just what I needed.  So cheerful.
 Stefen wrote:

Released 1964.




Yes! I was 9yrs old, I loved it then & still do!   Thanx RP!   
Released 1964.
 ImaOldman wrote:

Wow, 8.5 rating! Has to be one of the highest rated songs on RP.


And yet 53 people rate it a 1. Maybe they don't understand the rating system?
It's a 10 for sure. (June 24th 2022)
Wow, 8.5 rating! Has to be one of the highest rated songs on RP.
 amjadtaleb wrote:

Why is this so good?! 




Because it IS!
Why is this so good?! 
 Jacques wrote:

Totally mind-blowing... Monterey Jazz Festival or bust... I've seen the Charlie Brown Christmas Sepcial for at least 30 years in a row... my daughter (13) loves it now and we always watch it together... this is beautiful stuff and brings on waves of memories... Bill is a god!! Name one other radio station (live or online) that has played this tune anywhere else in the world today... gutsy Bill, gutsy. Cheers Jacques Radio Paradise: What Radio Could Have Been...



Jacques, your daughter is now 32 years old...i hope you and all your family are healthy and well whereever you are.  i love being able to reply to a message posted 19 years ago.
11!
One wonders if it's possible to enjoy this as the jazz standard that it is without thinking of Peanuts / Charlie Brown.  It's a tough one.
 RabbitEars wrote:


Covid computer break challenge: try dancing like each of these characters while the music plays...



Violet looks like she's in a work out video, pumping those arms!
I suppose this isn't really Christmas music, but it reminds me of Christmas more than any other music. 
10 for Christmas memories as a kid. 
10 for Linus.  
10 for Snoopy playing  guitar.  
10 for the iconic Charlie Brown Christmas tree. 
10 because it's simply great music on its own
Linus and Lucy followed by Fatboy Slim?

No, Bill! No! Bad Bill! Bad!
its a happy and peppy song
 merrickw wrote:


I don't remember twins in Charlie Brown, unless that's Patty in purple and she's there twice?
There are two distinct themes of music in this piece. It used to bother me that the segue between them is so minimal. Then it occurred to me: I wonder if a particular theme was identified with Lucy, and the other one with Linus? 
Charliebrown GIFs | Tenor
Turn it up!!
I always imagined the sand shakers were the sound effect for Pigpen dancing... in his dusty dirt cloud.
Another significant artist who died way too young. Viva Vince!
I love the percussion. It's exact and deliberate but still swings.
Catchy tune
If you are 50 or over and this doesn't bring a smile to your face you missed out as a kid.
Alvin and the chipmunks are next
 merrickw wrote:



Isn't the girl in purple in there twice? Twins maybe?
This takes me to my happy place.
 deepwoodskev wrote:
 merrickw wrote:


Can't believe I never realized after all of these years that there are two of the same girls in the purple dresses doing the same dance. Was it intentional that they be twins? Or was this a production gaffe? Hmmmm.....
 

OK, I realize this is way too much information, but your observation made me curious and I found the answer online, thanks to Pops Gustav:

I would wager that I cradle A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS as close to my geeky breast as anyone on the planet (I could stage a one-man show of the darn thing… just ask my friends). But there was always something that slightly nagged at me. There are three kids in the show who were unidentified. Who were the twin girls and the spiky haired kid who does that shoulder-head-bob dance at the school play? Were they just unnamed extra characters used to fill up space? Or did they have identities?

Well, Volume 7 of Fantagraphics’ indispensable COMPLETE PEANUTS (1963-64, covering, ahem, the year I was born) has solved the riddle. On Monday, Sept. 30, 1963, Linus and Charlie Brown meet the spiky haired kid… whose name is… 5. Actually, it’s 555 95472, but everyone calls him 5 for short.

And the twins?  They’re 5’s sisters, whom we meet some weeks later on October 17th. Their names? 3 and 4. (Predating SEINFELD’s gag about George naming his kid 7 by decades).

The numerically-named siblings were Charles Schulz’s commentary on the ever-increasing use of numbers to identify individuals, from Social Security to zip codes to expanded phone numbers. There are a few funny strips surrounding the kids (such as the one in which Snoopy, who has problems with names, isn’t sure if it’s 5 or V), but it seems as if Schulz came to feel that they were one-note jokes. They didn’t disappear from the strip altogether (5 makes appearances through the end of the book), but, as in the Christmas cartoon, they quickly become relegated to tertiary status in the Peanuts universe.

It’s also interesting to note that their last name, 95472 is their zip code… which would place them in Sebastopol, California. So, did the kids just move from the west coast to Charlie Brown’s unnamed, but very seasonal neighborhood? Or does it snow in Sebastapol California? Hmm…

Only future volumes will tell how long 3, 4 and 5 stayed in the ‘hood, but it’s nice to now be able to fully identify every single character in A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. Although in all honesty, I can’t tell 3 and 4 apart at all.

popsgustav.com
 merrickw wrote:


Can't believe I never realized after all of these years that there are two of the same girls in the purple dresses doing the same dance. Was it intentional that they be twins? Or was this a production gaffe? Hmmmm.....

Also never realized how much Snoopy is rocking out on that guitar!!
 tcseeley wrote:
The scene in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that still moves me to tears in when Linus walks on the stage, asks for a spotlight and recites Luke chapter 2, verses 8-14.
 
Every time; even after 55 years. . .
This was the recessional at my brothers wedding... they danced down the aisle.  It was epic.
Takes me back to my parents living room in 1966. I was 7 and digging it.
Good God how about Savoy Brown instead of Charlie Brown,
Thanks for posting this!  I remember watching this first Peanuts special with my mother in 1965ish (I would've been 15), and both of us howling with laughter and delight at this particular little dancer in that sequence.  How wonderful that you've isolated him!  And what a great track of music from Vince Guaraldi.
Image result for snoopy dancing gif
 
In a Class by itself.
 tcseeley wrote:
The scene in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that still moves me to tears in when Linus walks on the stage, asks for a spotlight and recites Luke chapter 2, verses 8-14.
 
Charlie Brown: Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
[moves toward the center of the stage]
Linus Van Pelt: Lights, please.
[a spotlight shines on Linus]
Linus Van Pelt: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not:"
[Linus drops his security blanket on purpose]
Linus Van Pelt: "for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"
Linus Van Pelt: [Linus picks up his blanket and walks back towards Charlie Brown] That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
 SmackDaddy wrote:
I think it's physically impossible to hear this and not smile.
 
Yes, for all but 40 soulless beings that voted this outstanding beauty a 1.
(as of 11-11-20)
One of the highest rated songs I've seen, and deserves it!
 Highlowsel wrote:
Hey....I can't help it!


Image result for charlie brown dancing gif
 

Covid computer break challenge: try dancing like each of these characters while the music plays...
 Highlowsel wrote:
Hey....I can't help it!


Image result for charlie brown dancing gif
 
Only see Linus dancing in the clip above.  No Lucy. 
You've got some splaining to do girl
I think this is an outstanding and timeless piece of music..
This one somehow feels like it's in a different time signature, even a little hard to count, but I guess it's 4/4 even when it slows down.  I'm not very good at figuring that out.
ALWAYS feel good hearing this one! Masterful
Merry Christmas!
The scene in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that still moves me to tears in when Linus walks on the stage, asks for a spotlight and recites Luke chapter 2, verses 8-14.
I don't think there could be a more universally loved song (at least in the USA) that provokes such unbridled happiness in each listener.
Always great.  Guaraldi's album, "In Person" is fantastic.  His signature sound is all there.  Listen to it, and it's clear that Linus & Lucy could have come from no one else.
Makes me happy :)
Can't help but smile EVERY TIME
very good quality this morning.
thanks Bill!
How can you not get happy when this comes on?  
Hey....I can't help it!


Image result for charlie brown dancing gif
Hey...it ain't Christmas!

Play some Summer music. Quickly. It's slipping away. 
 sfyi2001 wrote:
Don't get to feeling TOO good - 'Casimir Pulaski Day' is up next ~
 
Dang. Yep, and I go from dancing to tearing up.
 JckTorance wrote:
this is a 10 but not in May
 
Oh, it's a ten 365 days a year!
Wow! New to me! Once again, thanks B&R for the musical expansion. It feels like meeting new friends
Do-ba-do do-ba-do doo, doo. Doo-ba do do! Do-ba-do Do-ba-do doo, doo. Doo-da-do! Doo-da-do!
Don't get to feeling TOO good - 'Casimir Pulaski Day' is up next ~
Get me out of this elevator. Please!!
I think it's physically impossible to hear this and not smile.
Bump. 9-->10. The Peanuts Christmas show came out in 1965, the year I was born, and I literally grew up with it. But, thanks to RP, I have explored much more of Vince Guaraldi, and absolutely love his vibe. Pre-Peanuts and Post-Peanuts. A wonderful 1960s jazz trio.
The world today needs to listen to more VG.
Viking1965
This ride cymbal made me realise how good are the tweeters of my beloved Cabasse Sloop M4.
Ain't this a Christmas song? 

Valentine's day is two days away. How about playing an appropriate song?
Got it: "My Favorite Things" by John Coltrane.   And it does have McCoy Tyner on piano. 
One of the most perfect songs ever.
A fascinating analysis of this composition is on the website of The New Yorker magazine:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/deck-the-halls-with-vince-guaraldi?mbid=social_twitter
Gotta Snoopy dance goin on here.
Perfect on a rainy Sunday morning!
 rpdevotee wrote:
timmus wrote:
I wonder if it's possible to think of this song without Peanuts.  As a regular old jazz song that you might hear in a smoky lounge.  Is it possible?

  
stevendejong wrote:

Yes, as someone who wasn't born in the US and also quite some time after this came out, this sounds like a regular old jazz song. A very nice one, and I don't even like jazz :-)

 
Thanks so much Steven!  Us older Americans can't even listen to this song without associating it with the Peanuts cartoon special.  I was wondering the same thing as Timmus...Is it even possible and how would that be?  Thanks for answering!

 
Same here. I have no history with the Peanuts. Think I saw a cartoon in a paper ages ago, but that's it. The song has a nice feeling to it, otherwise it sounds a bit lame to me, very repetitive. Nothing special all in all. Just my impression of course.
timmus wrote:
I wonder if it's possible to think of this song without Peanuts.  As a regular old jazz song that you might hear in a smoky lounge.  Is it possible?

  
stevendejong wrote:

Yes, as someone who wasn't born in the US and also quite some time after this came out, this sounds like a regular old jazz song. A very nice one, and I don't even like jazz :-)

 
Thanks so much Steven!  Us older Americans can't even listen to this song without associating it with the Peanuts cartoon special.  I was wondering the same thing as Timmus...Is it even possible and how would that be?  Thanks for answering!
 CaffeineSam wrote:
I AM AN ADULT AND EVERY WORD I SAY IS JUST GOING WAWAWAWAWAWA WHAT IS HAPPENING PLEASE SEND HELP KTHX.

 
Haha...that kid u used to be that enjoyed the kids in the peanuts special is now one of the anonymous adults! 
this is a 10 but not in May
 CrispyDruid wrote:
Who's the heartless frood who didn't vote a10?

Doesn't everyone love Guaraldi?
 
There's a good sized group who'll never give a 10 rating to a song (or a woman, etc.) because how do you define the top of the scale?

Seems like that should apply to 1 ratingstoo, although there's always someone giving out 1 ratings, even on the select few tracks with an overall 9+  rating. 

Personally I give more 10s than 1s  (if there were that many 1s I don't think I'd be listening to RP to begin with ) and consider this to be a 8+ (which I round ) so I rate a 9.

Long live RP! 

Pigpen, you da man!
Image result for snoopy dancing gif
Who's the heartless frood who didn't vote a10? Doesn't everyone love Guaraldi?
Makes me kinda' sad. The world is not that time and place anymore.
Bouncing in my chair a la the kid in the orange shirt
 timmus wrote:
I wonder if it's possible to think of this song without Peanuts.  As a regular old jazz song that you might hear in a smoky lounge.  Is it possible?

 
Yes, as someone who wasn't born in the US and also quite some time after this came out, this sounds like a regular old jazz song. A very nice one, and I don't even like jazz :-)
Well this certainly gets me in the Fall mood. If anyone is wondering why a Xmas era song now, it's the opening background music to the Halloween episode as well. Or just because it's a great ditty. 
90 degrees outside with very high humidity and this song is rockin!!!!!!!!!!
Just a HAPPY tune.  Thank you RP!!!
{#Daisy}
At 8.8 this must be up a very high percentile in the RP library.
Only on RP!! It’s a beautiful sunny spring day here, and this is PERFECT!! One of our all time faves {#Roflol}

20 people voted this a 1 wow oh well such is life but a 1????? 
 timmus wrote:
I wonder if it's possible to think of this song without Peanuts.  As a regular old jazz song that you might hear in a smoky lounge.  Is it possible?

 
Nope!
 maxjboxer wrote:
LOL couldn't find one negative comment!  I think it's one of the highlights of everyone's childhood.

 
one of the major ones at least
i remember talking to a friend the next day after seeing it for the first time about the music
was it jazz?
no it couldn't be i don't like jazz 
I am always gonna like this little tune....even if it is forever associated in my memory with a certain dancing couple...

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/19/cf/b3/19cfb36282a0543490b90aab88dada72.jpg

Hey...as memories go it could be far worse, eh?  Heh!

Highlow

American Net'Zen


I once read that this soundtrack was the most listened-to piece of recorded music on the planet. Is that possible?
I wonder if it's possible to think of this song without Peanuts.  As a regular old jazz song that you might hear in a smoky lounge.  Is it possible?
LOL couldn't find one negative comment!  I think it's one of the highlights of everyone's childhood.
Just makes me HAPPY 

{#Bananajam}  {#Bananapiano}    {#Drummer}

{#Bananajumprope}   {#Dancingbanana}  {#Bananasplit}
Okay, how many of us are doing that goofy Peanuts dance right now? You know you can't help it.
2015 Christmas time has arrived!
Hi Bill thanks for the uplift!
Lovely for a Friday morning. Dancing at my desk!  {#Dancingbanana}
Perfect for a lovely Friday afternoon...or, you know, any Friday afternoon.  {#Wink}
Up and dancing, obviously.
Happy memories. The recessional music at my wedding.
I AM AN ADULT AND EVERY WORD I SAY IS JUST GOING WAWAWAWAWAWA WHAT IS HAPPENING PLEASE SEND HELP KTHX.

An American classic.
Absolute genius :^ )
I don't think it is possible to listen to this song and not be happy.  
yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!!!