Vince Guaraldi

Vincent Anthony Guaraldi ( / ɡ ə ˈ r æ l d i / ; né Dellaglio , July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist who composed music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. His compositions for this series included their signature melody " Linus and Lucy " and the holiday standard " Christmas Time Is Here ". The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas , composed principally by Guaraldi, became the best-selling jazz album of all time. Guaraldi also performed on piano as a member of Cal Tjader 's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. Guaraldi's 1962 composition " Cast Your Fate to the Wind " became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition . He died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm on February 6, 1976, at age 47, moments after concluding the first half of a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California .

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