Linus and Lucy

This article is about the jazz standard. For the Peanuts characters referenced by the title, see Linus Van Pelt and Lucy Van Pelt.

"Linus and Lucy" is a popular instrumental jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. It serves as the main theme tune for the many Peanuts animated specials and is named for the two fictional siblings, Linus and Lucy Van Pelt. The jazz standard was originally released on Guaraldi's album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown in 1964, but it gained its greatest exposure as part of A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the following year.^[2] It is one of the most recognizable pieces by Guaraldi and has gained status as the signature melody of the Peanuts franchise.^[3] It has also become a popular song on radio stations playing Christmas music during the holidays.^[4]

"Linus and Lucy"
US 7" single
Single by Vince Guaraldi
from the album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas
A-side	"Oh, Good Grief"
Released	December 1964 (1964-12) (U.S.)
Recorded	October 26, 1964 (1964-10-26)[1]
Genre	Jazz · boogie-woogie
Length	3:06
Label	Fantasy 593X
Songwriter	Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi singles chronology
"Treat Street" (1964) "Linus and Lucy" (1964) "Theme to Grace" (1965)

History

The genesis of "Linus and Lucy" began when Peanuts executive producer Lee Mendelson heard Vince Guaraldi's hit, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", on the radio while driving his car over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Mendelson then contacted San Francisco Chronicle jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason, who put him in touch with Guaraldi. Mendelson believed Guaraldi would be a good fit for a documentary he was working on entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Guaraldi gladly accepted the offer to compose several jazz tunes for the documentary.^[5]

Within several weeks, Mendelson received a call from an excited Guaraldi who wanted to play a piece of music he had just written. Mendelson, not wanting his first exposure to the new music to be marred by the poor audio qualities of a telephone, suggested coming over to Guaraldi's studio. Guaraldi enthusiastically refused, saying "I've got to play this for someone right now or I'll explode!" He then began playing the then untitled "Linus and Lucy" for Mendelson, who agreed the song was perfect for Schulz's Peanuts characters.^[5]

Reflecting on the song in 2008, Mendelson said, "it just blew me away. It was so right, and so perfect, for Charlie Brown and the other characters. I have no idea why, but I knew that song would affect my entire life. There was a sense, even before it was put to animation, that there was something very, very special about that music."^[6]

Releases

"Linus and Lucy" was originally featured on Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1964) and was also released as the B-side for the single "Oh, Good Grief". However, it gained its greatest exposure as part of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the following year. Since then, it has been reissued multiple times. To date, it has been included on the following soundtracks and compilations:^[7]

• A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack) (1965)
• Greatest Hits (1980)
• Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits (1998)
• The Definitive Vince Guaraldi (2009)
• Peanuts Portraits (2010)
• The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi (2012)
• Peanuts Greatest Hits (2015)

Guaraldi included variations of his signature tune in most subsequent Peanuts television specials he worked on after A Charlie Brown Christmas through You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown in 1975. Some of these alternate renditions have been made available on the following releases:^[7]

• Oh Good Grief! (1968) – harpsichord-driven version
• A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Selections from the Film Soundtrack (1970) – minor key, flute-driven versions
• The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites (2003) – band version from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and live version recorded at Mr. D's in San Francisco, California on May 18, 1969^[8]
• Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2 (2008) – chimes-driven version from You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972)
• Live on the Air (2008) – live version recorded in 1974^[9]
• An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet (2011) – live version recorded in 1967^[7]
• A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) – minor key, flute-driven versions^[10]
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2018) – flute-driven version
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Original Soundtrack Recording (2023) – band version with brass
• It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2024) – flute-driven, vibes versions
• You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2024) – chimes version
• Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2025) – bridge variations

Legacy

"Linus and Lucy" receives considerable airplay on radio stations in the United States and Canada that flip to Christmas music for the holiday season due to its inclusion on the soundtrack album of A Charlie Brown Christmas.^[2]

The first 24 bars of the song's sheet music were adopted as startup sound while a subsequent 8 bars were adopted as shutdown sound in the desktop theme Peanuts from Microsoft Plus! 98.

The song has been used as background music for The Weather Channel's local forecasts during the holiday season since 1999.^[11]

On May 10, 2019, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single gold for sales.^[12]

Charts

Chart performance for "Linus and Lucy" Chart (2021) Peak position Global 200 (Billboard)[13] 117 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 37

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of cover versions of Vince Guaraldi songs
• List of jazz standards
• Christmas music