Vince Guaraldi Peanuts Music - Why No Contemporaneous Singles?

If you can believe Discogs, Fantasy never released any of Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts tunes as singles (at least until the current millennium).

Considering that "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was a hit, why didn't Fantasy release, for example, "Linus and Lucy" as a single? Couldn't it have become a hit, at least after the Christmas and Halloween shows had aired for a few years? It seems they could have sold well, between adults who liked "Cast Your Fate" and kids who watched the cartoons.

I realize that many jazz and instrumental hit singles at that time were flukes, but it seems like Fantasy could have worked a few angles to promote Peanuts tracks.

 

You mean because of licensing rights with the TV network or production company? As the composer, wouldn't Guaraldi have been able to re-record his own versions of the tunes on his own dime for a 45?

 

I don't understand. Did Guaraldi sign a bad deal? Film and TV composers frequently re-record their film music compositions for their own releases, at their own expense.

 

So the agreement for Fantasy, in order to have the rights to releasing the album, was no singles I assume. I would think L&L would have been a hit with the kids if anything.

 

I just read a snippet of VG arrangements with Fantasy (described in the book Vince Guarldi at the Piano ). Not a good deal at all. Looks Vince was trying to leave Fantasy for years and could not get out of it. I guess VG signed a deal giving Fantasy part of any furture work with other labels, etc. Not a very friendly arrangement

 

I'm confused as I own two singles of "Linus & Lucy", one on Fantasy years ago that I bought while in L.A. at "Rocky Rocardo's" and the other, a Record Store Day gold vinyl pressing, from a few years ago, so what are you talking about???

 

Gold Vinyl RSD ...

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus And Lucy / Oh, Good Grief

 

Old Fantasy 45 ...

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Oh, Good Grief

 

The first was apparently released only as a promo, and the other did not come out until 2013. I was talking about contemporaneous singles.

 

My original Fantasy single is NOT a promo and I own two copies of it. I couldn't believe my luck when I went to Rocky Ricardo's in L.A. years ago when I saw not one, but two copies of this rare single and I bought both of them.

 

Weren't the tunes commissioned for the TV show? If so, then they probably could only have done so at the network's behest.

 

Well, I doubt that Fantasy was preventing a 45 release, if they could have made money from it. So the contractual snag must have been with the company that produced the TV shows.

 

Discogs lists it as a promo. Either way, it wasn't a hit if it was released.

 

Usually composers retain certain rights to the compositions, for example, performing the music live or re-recording the music for their own albums. They don't have rights to the original recordings.

 

HERE ...

45cat - Cover - Vince Guaraldi Trio - Oh, Good Grief / Linus And Lucy - Fantasy - USA - 593

 

Discogs claims it was a promo only, not that they are always correct.

Still, if it was released, I wonder why it was not a hit.

 

Probably because "Linus & Lucy" was the flip-side and "Oh Good Grief" was not a Holiday release? From Dec. 1964 ...

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Oh, Good Grief

 

Sadest thing in my life is that Guaraldi is dead..

 

"Linus and Lucy" would have had a shelf life beyond December, although the holiday tie-in would certainly have helped.

 

UPDATE: The store was called "Rooky Ricardo's" and it was NOT in L.A., but instead in San Francisco and supposedly the store still exists? My California trips often get confused thanks to too much wine and record and CD shopping, sorry!

 

The fact that a retail copy is not listed on Discogs just means that nobody has submitted it yet.

 

As I said, "not that they are always correct."

 

I don't think the song existed in 12/64.

Linus and Lucy was written as the first piece for the CBCS but he was only retained to write the rest in the spring of 65.