Good Grief Charlie Brown! It's the Great Pumpkin!
Probably the first music I really connected with was Vince Guaraldi's jazzy soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special. I was very young the first year I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, but I think my taste in music as an adult can be traced to that event. Had I been older when the specials first aired, my ears might already have been tuned to the music of my older siblings: Rock-n-Roll. But in 1966, I wasn't yet aware of Dylan, the Beatles, Motown, or the Rolling Stones. I'd heard the pop music of the day on the radio, but it just didn't resonate with me the way Vince's music did. Years latter, when I investigated Rock music as a teenager, that's when I began to feel connected with it. I pretty much went from Do You Hear What I Hear and Winter Wonderland to Linus & Lucy and The Great Pumpkin Waltz.
I guess all kids go through a phase where everything they see or do has to reflect their burgeoning individuality. I guess that phase started for me around six. Back then I couldn't wait to fill the barren walls of my mind with stories and music. Perhaps it's only natural for youngsters to want stories first, then music. Anyway, that's the way it was for me. Enter video.
What'd we have back then, 7, maybe 8 channels? Didn't matter, the walls were filling. I wouldn't say that I watched a whole lot of TV as a kid, but I did enjoy it when I could choose the station--when I could watch cartoons!--and The Charlie Brown Christmas Special was definitely one of my favorites. For me, 30 minutes never flew by so fast. In every scene, music and action blend seamlessly. That's what captured me. From that first image of Snoopy shredding ice like a pro, I'm hooked. Vince's music effortlessly catches the abandon. Ditto for the Halloween Special. In both, the nimble instincts of the small jazz combo shift easily from Holiday classics to character themes, and nicely highlight all the fun and silly antics of the Peanuts Gang. To this day, there can be no better harbinger of the Holiday Season.
So on October 1st, I broke out my Charlie Brown statuary and cued up the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack. For me, it just wouldn't be Autumn without it.
Can you feel the season change where you're at? I hope so.
