My Top 2000 Songs #1026: Linus And Lucy

Ok, hear me out. Vince Guaraldi's "Linus And Lucy," better known as the theme to those Peanuts cartoons, is admittedly an odd choice. The 1964 piano number is obviously jazz, not rock & roll; plus, it violates my loose rule of avoiding instrumentals on this list (a rule I've broken a few times, so sue me). 

Still... what could be more amazing than a rock & roll cover of "Linus And Lucy"? For those of us of a certain age, Guaraldi's tune is one of the most readily-identifiable pieces of music of any genre. So perk it up with an electric guitar, and you're still gonna get all that giddy nostalgia, with just a bit more volume.

I'm a fan of Built To Spill's distortion-heavy live version, which showed up on a bonus CD released alongside 2001's Ancient Melodies Of The Future. Another great one was by Game Theory, given a bit more of a synthy power-pop vibe, included as a bonus track on the reissue of 1986's Big Shot Chronicles. Then there's Love Tractor's version, the Southern jangle pop act keeping it a little more faithful to the original on the oddball but excellently-titled 2006 compilation Before And After Christmas. And jam band Goose has occasionally included it in their live sets (typically around Christmastime).

I'm sure there are others as well.

Built To Spill:

Game Theory:

Love Tractor:

Goose: