Editing Vince Guaraldi (section)

===''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown''=== 
Following the unexpected success of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'', the creative team produced another special, ''[[Charlie Brown's All Stars!]]'' (1966), which was also well received. With confidence in their ability to replicate their initial success, Schulz, Mendelson, and animator [[Bill Melendez]] set their sights on another holiday-themed special, ''[[It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown]]'' (1966).<ref name="linerPumpkin" />  

Guaraldi composed the score throughout the summer of 1966, advocating for "Linus and Lucy" to become the franchise's unofficial theme. Recognizing this oversight in ''Charlie Brown's All Stars!'', he ensured that the piece was featured prominently in ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown''. Melendez responded by structuring the special's opening sequence around a dialogue-free montage, accompanied solely by Guaraldi's music. This version of "Linus and Lucy", recorded with a sextet that included bassist [[Monty Budwig]], drummer [[Colin Bailey (drummer)|Colin Bailey]], trumpeter [[Mannie Klein|Emmanuel Klein]], guitarist John Gray, and flautist [[Ronnie Lang]], became the definitive rendition of the piece and solidified its place as the ''Peanuts'' musical identity.<ref name="linerPumpkin">Bang, Derrick; Liner notes from ''[[It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Music from the Soundtrack]]'' (2018)</ref>

Guaraldi continued composing for ''Peanuts'', scoring twelve additional animated television specials, as well as the feature film ''[[A Boy Named Charlie Brown]]'' and the documentary ''[[Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz]]'' (both 1969).{{sfn|Bang|2012|p=253}}