Vince Guaraldi was a jazz trio band leader active from the late 50s to the early 70s. He is chiefly remembered for composing the music to the Peanuts television specials and movies; and for Linus and Lucy in particular.
It's an achingly simple piece of jazzy blues. Driving bass piano notes samba with brushes and maracas, bursts of drums thunder with chiming piano licks, all backed by that hear-it-once-and-you-never-forget-it melody.
The reason Linus and Lucy so perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Peanuts is because it hits just the right pitch of naivety and world weariness. Peanuts has remained perennially popular because of the universal chord struck by taking children and giving their concerns an adult perspective.
With this in mind, Guaraldi has composed a piece of music that wouldn't feel out of place soundtracking a bustling metropolis or a kid scraping their knee. It's the drudge of dragging a sledge up hill and the wide-eyed-ye-Gods-I'm-Alive heart pounding affirmation of the world as you thunder back down the ice.
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