February 15, 2024

It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown soundtrack vinyl for Record Store Day 2024

Following on the success of last year's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving album, Lee Mendelson Film Productions has announced the release of another classic Vince Guaraldi Peanuts soundtrack.

It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown will be issued on an exclusive "camp green" vinyl LP for Record Store Day on April 20, 2024.

The original soundtrack recording for this special has never been available before, and this album contains six bonus tracks as well.

If you missed the "camp green" vinyl, the album is receiving a wide release in more formats on July 5, 2024.  It will be available on CD, digital, and black vinyl; plus also a "summer night blue" vinyl only available from independent record stores.  See this blog post for more details.

Here's the full press release:

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Available for the first time ever!
Vince Guaraldi’s complete soundtrack for 1969's It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
Limited release in celebration of the special's 55th anniversary

Available exclusively on "Camp Green" Vinyl (12-inch, 45 RPM) 
for Record Store Day, April 20th

    “This entire score is can’t-be-played-often-enough ear candy. It’s as fresh and vibrant today — and as swinging — as when it was laid down 55 years ago: yet another captivating display of Guaraldi’s compositional genius and keyboard wizardry. Summer never sounded so sweet.”
— From the liner notes by Derrick Bang, Author, Vince Guaraldi at the Piano


Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the release of Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the sixth animated Peanuts special, from writer/creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson. The special originally aired on CBS-TV on September 27, 1969, and currently can be streamed on Apple TV+.
 
The album includes the original recordings that comprise the special's song cues, plus six bonus and alternative tracks that never have been released or heard before.

Guaraldi lovingly created the soundtrack for the summer camp adventure that finds Charlie Brown and his gang facing off against the girls’ camp members, led by Peppermint Patty. The album's large jazz combo also delivers the best rendition of Guaraldi's classic tune, “Love Will Come (Nova Bossa),” and features his first use of additional percussion supplied by Victor Feldman.
 
The recording features Guaraldi (piano), Monty Budwig (double bass), Jack Sperling (drums), Conti and Pete Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Feldman (percussion), Herb Ellis (guitar), William Hood and Peter Christlieb (woodwinds), with John Scott Trotter as orchestra leader. The album was produced by Sean and Jason Mendelson, sons of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson, and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.
 
The album will be available exclusively at participating retail outlets starting April 20, 2024, as part of Record Store Day. Store locations and additional information is available at recordstoreday.com
 
The 12" 45 RMP LP will come in "camp green" and includes liner notes and a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang (author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano) and Sean Mendelson (son of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson and album co-producer).  The package also boasts images from the special, and of the recently re-discovered original tape boxes (which led to this release).  
 
For an extended version of the press release and more information, click here

Track list:

A1. CHARLIE BROWN THEME
A2. LINUS AND LUCY
A3. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN
A4. OH, GOOD GRIEF!
A5. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN
A6. SCHROEDER
A7. BUS BLUES / BUS BLUES (REPRISE)
A8. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)
A9. FRIEDA (WITH THE NATURALLY CURLY HAIR)
A10. OH, GOOD GRIEF! (REPRISE)
A11. COME AND GET IT / HASH / HASH WITH HORN / AM BREAK / TAH DAH 
A12. BON VOYAGE
A13. PEPPERMINT PATTY
A14. LOVE WILL COME (NOVA BOSSA)
A15. HE’S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN

B1. PEBBLE BEACH
B2. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)
B3. HE’S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN (REPRISE)
B4. MASKED MARVEL
B5. AIR MUSIC
B6. MASKED MARVEL (REPRISE) / MASKED MARVEL (2ND REPRISE) 
B7. YOU’RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN (2ND REPRISE)
B8. LINUS AND LUCY (REPRISE)
B9. OH, GOOD GRIEF! (2ND REPRISE)
B10. CHARLIE BROWN THEME (REPRISE)
B11. IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN (2ND REPRISE) 

Bonus content:
B12. LINUS AND LUCY (ALTERNATE)
B13. WORKING ON “IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN” 
B14. BUS BLUES (ALTERNATE)
B15. PEBBLE BEACH (ALTERNATE)
B16. MASKED MARVEL (ALTERNATE)
B17. LINUS AND LUCY (REPRISE ALTERNATE)
 
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Most excellent news - and remember, good sales of this album will make more soundtrack releases likely in the future.

Demand for Record Store Day exclusives can be high, and usually you must go to the store in person to get them - so plan accordingly for April 20!

5 comments:

  1. Amazing and thank you and the Mendelssohn family!

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  2. Has anyone received a copy? My record store said they didn't receive it in their order. I called two others that said the same thing. I looked on eBay and didn't even see any scalper copies compared with other releases from yesterday. Did it get canceled or delayed somehow?

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  3. As far as I know the Record Store Day exclusive was released yesterday and not delayed. It was very limited quantities, though, that probably made it difficult to find. Reportedly there will be another vinyl and a CD release later on this year, though, so all is not lost!

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  4. Shops near me had copies, and sold out - but it was definitely released (the limited green edition) - there was at least one copy on Discogs for $100 as of late yesterday...

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  5. A wide, non-exclusive release of It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown is coming July 5, 2024, on CD, digital, and black vinyl; plus also a "summer night blue" vinyl only available from independent record stores. See this blog post: http://blog.fivecentsplease.org/2024/05/it-was-short-summer-charlie-brown.html

    ReplyDelete