An Album of Lost Charlie Brown Songs Is Coming
Good grief!
Lucy van Pelt never made a mistake in her life, but whoever forgot to correctly organize the alternate tapes of Charlie Brown songs certainly did.
After 50 years of being stashed away out of sight (and out of mind), some never-heard-before tracks from the Peanuts series will finally be heard in their original, untouched glory.
The alternate renditions and their hidden tracks were uncovered in archives at Lee Mendelson Film Productions sometime after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by Entertainment Weekly.
Hidden in plain sight—in a box labeled "Big Pumpkin Charlie Brown"—were the demo tracks and original notes from the writing session.
Reports have confirmed that these new-to-the-public tapes are all different variations of the Peanuts unofficial theme song, "Linus and Lucy", which was originally composed by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi for the 1965 Peanuts Christmas special: A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Some of the to-be-released compositions feature horns, flutes, and other previously cut instruments, which means Peanuts fans may finally have some new scores to learn!
Just how many previously unreleased versions of the song were uncovered—and if the team has plans to release them all—has not yet been made clear, but we'd be interested to see just how many arrangements the team considered before deciding on the now iconic tune!
The alternate song demos are set to be released on Aug. 26 in the remastered official soundtrack of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The album will feature seven of the newly-discovered originals, including the rendition Guaraldi shared on YouTube earlier this week titled: "Linus and Lucy (Alternate Take 2)".
Which variation do you like better?
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