Podcast 958: A Conversation with Sean Mendelson

For the first time ever, the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the timeless 10th animated Peanuts special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and Phil Roman and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Originally airing on November 20, 1973 on CBS-TV, the special has been broadcast or streamed every year for the last 50 years. But the soundtrack album has remained elusively out of reach.

Now we have the original recordings that comprise the thirteen song cues of the Special, plus another nine bonus or alternative tracks that have never been released or heard before.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), Seward McCain (electric bass), future funk master Mike Clark (drums), Tom Harrell (trumpet and brass arrangements), and Chuck Bennett   (trombone). Guaraldi even contributes a rare vocal on “Little Birdie.” The soundtrack was produced by Sean and Jason Mendelson, re-mixed by Terry Carleton at Bones and Knives, and restored and mastered/re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

 Sean Mendelson is the son of the legendary Lee Mendelson, the man who coaxed Charles Schulz into taking his comic strip to television, and co-write the classic “Christmas Time is Here.” A fine musician in his own right, on Podcast 958, Sean takes us through the circuitous route this music has taken, and how it has been upgraded to meet current standards. Musical selections include a particualrly funky take on “Linus and Lucy” and “Little Birdie.”