Vince Guaraldi (July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz musician and pianist best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. Guaraldi was born in San Francisco, California. He graduated from Lincoln High School, attended San Francisco State College, and served as an Army cook in the Korean War.[...]Early DeathGuaraldi died of a sudden heart attack at age 47 on February 6, 1976. He was found in a room at the Red Cottage Inn, relaxing between sets at Butterfield's nightclub in Menlo Park, California. Guaraldi had just finished recording the soundtrack for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown earlier that afternoon. Guaraldi was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California.After Guaraldi's death, the music for the Peanuts series was composed by noted jazz musician David Benoit, who has often credited Guaraldi and the original Peanuts Christmas special music for his interest in jazz.In 2003 a heretofore unknown live performance of the eight-part "Charlie Brown Suite" was released, restored from tapes in private collections.
