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. In his first serious gig, he had to fill in for Art Tatum.