' was the last "Peanuts" special to feature original music composed by Vince Guaraldi (except where noted), who was best known for the Peanuts' signature tune, "Linus and Lucy." 47-year-old Guaraldi died suddenly several hours after completing the soundtrack for this special. With the untimely death of Guaraldi, later "Peanuts" animated specials lack the same jazzy musical score as previous entries. As such, ' is seen by some fans as the swan song of the "golden era" of "Peanuts" animation. In addition, it was the first "Peanuts" special since "Charlie Brown's All Stars!" (1966) that was not conducted and arranged by John Scott Trotter, who had died on October 29, 1975.