Vincent Anthony Guaraldi was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip.
42 Facts About Vince Guaraldi
2.
Vince Guaraldi is known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career.
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Vince Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack in February 1976 at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California.
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Vince Guaraldi graduated from Lincoln High School, briefly attended San Francisco State College, and served in the United States Army as a cook in Korea from 1946 to 1948.
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Vince Guaraldi's first recording was an unreleased demo made with Tom Hart in mid-1951.
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Vince Guaraldi's first recorded debut as a group leader occurred in August 1955 during a live session held at the Black Hawk.
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Vince Guaraldi then reunited with Tjader in August 1956 and was an integral part of two bands that the vibraphonist assembled.
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Vince Guaraldi recorded his follow-up album, A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing in April 1957, again featuring Duran and Reilly and again without a drummer.
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Vince Guaraldi left the group early in 1959 to pursue his own projects full-time.
10.
Fantasy Records released "Samba de Orpheus" as a single, trying to catch the building bossa nova wave, but it was destined to sink without a trace when radio DJs began turning it over and playing the B-side, Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".
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Vince Guaraldi ultimately won a Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition.
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Shortly after this time, Vince Guaraldi was invited to compose a "jazz mass" with the Eucharist chorus of San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.
13.
Vince Guaraldi sued in early 1966 in an effort to sever all relationships with the label; Fantasy promptly countersued.
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Vince Guaraldi defined the Peanuts sound, and it's just as true today as it was in the 1960s.
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Vince Guaraldi spent most of summer 1966 composing cues for the Halloween-themed special, strongly encouraging Mendelson to consider making "Linus and Lucy", which had been featured prominently in the Christmas special, the unofficial Peanuts theme.
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Vince Guaraldi went on to compose scores for twelve additional Peanuts animated television specials, as well as the feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown and the documentary Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz.
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Guaraldi was then given complete artistic control over his second self-produced Warner effort, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi, resulting in an unfocused and overindulgent album that was not well received by either critics or consumers.
18.
All Peanuts soundtracks scored after Play It Again, Charlie Brown feature Vince Guaraldi favoring electric keyboards over traditional piano as well.
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The amount of wealth Vince Guaraldi accumulated from his perpetual Peanuts scoring opportunities plus royalties from previous work allowed him to live comfortably in Mill Valley, California.
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Vince Guaraldi continued to perform at small, local clubs out of a desire to do so rather than financial necessity.
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Vince Guaraldi never branched out from there; he never really wanted to.
22.
Vince Guaraldi died suddenly on February 6,1976, at age 47 after suffering a massive heart attack.
23.
The doctor thought Vince Guaraldi might have a diaphragmatic hernia, and that they might have to deal with it.
24.
That afternoon, Vince Guaraldi finished recording the soundtrack for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco with bassist Seward McCain and drummer Jim Zimmerman.
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When Vince Guaraldi fell and hit the floor, Jim [Zimmerman] got me.
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Vince Guaraldi's death was a blow to his friends, family and colleagues.
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Vince Guaraldi stayed out late, he smoked, and he did a whole lot of things.
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Vince Guaraldi pushed himself to the limit, whether musically or physically.
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Vince Guaraldi saw himself as a very youthful person, but he didn't do any of the physical things you have to do to prepare yourself to live like that.
30.
Vince Guaraldi is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.
31.
Vince Guaraldi married high school girlfriend Shirley Moskowitz on February 1,1953.
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Vince Guaraldi initially filed for divorce on April 21,1966, citing "extreme cruelty", which was eventually withdrawn.
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Vince Guaraldi released "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the album Waiting for Spring in 1989.
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Vince Guaraldi's music is part of our culture and we know it even if we don't know Vince.
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Vince Guaraldi had three bags: the Latin, the Peanuts, and the impressionistic 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' stuff.
36.
The Peanuts programs and Vince Guaraldi's music were such a wonderful marriage.
37.
In 2010, a two-hour documentary entitled The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi was screened at a variety of jazz and film festivals.
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The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi was the recipient of five "Best Documentary" awards, and was a special presentation at the Library of Congress and Monterey Jazz Festival.
39.
That is what Vince Guaraldi achieved with his scores for Charlie Brown.
40.
Vince Guaraldi took his inspiration from the creations of Charles Schulz and made music that reflects that inspiration, is empathetic with the image and is still solidly and unmistakably Vince Guaraldi.
41.
Vince Guaraldi's originals were some of the best jazz to come from the West Coast scene and a tribute to what can happen when a great muse hits a gifted composer.
42.
The original Vince Guaraldi Trio consisted of Dean Reilly and Eddie Duran, appearing on Guaraldi's first two albums.