Musician plumbs depths of 'Peanuts'

Ben Folds relishes the kind, nuanced world of Snoopy & Co. in writing for musical.

- BY STUART MILLER

Apple TV+ NEW "Peanuts" special "A Summer Musical."

Snoopy is the superstar of the “Peanuts” world, but Ben Folds is loyal to Charlie Brown. "I'm going to have to go with Chuck because he's so emotionally compressed," the singer-songwriter said when asked for a favorite.

Folds didn’t grow up poring over the Charles M. Schulz comics or memorizing the TV specials - "I can't think of anything I really was a fan of outside of music" but he loved Vince Guaraldi's music for the animated specials.

He started studying Charlie Brown and the gang when he was hired to write the title song for "It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown," sung by Charlie's sister Sally in the 2022 Apple TV+ special. And he recently dove back into the world of these iconic characters when he returned to write the final three songs for "Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical," streaming on Apple TV+.

"I think it's good that I came to fully appreciate the world of 'Peanuts' as an adult," says Folds, although he adds that he was still starstruck about writing for Charlie Brown. "It's a lot of responsibility," he says. "I was asking the Schulz family, 'Can I say this?' and they'd say, 'Yes, it's yours.'"

Folds' best-known songs, such as "Brick," "Song for the Dumped," "Army," "Rockin' the Suburbs" and "Zak and Sara," may seem too sardonic or dark for the sweet world of Snoopy and company. But he sees it differently.

"There's a lot of deep stuff there. 'Peanuts,' like 'Mister Rogers,' presents an empathetic and nuanced, not dumbed-down view of the world, and that is rare for kids programming," he says. "I was able to say stuff in my songs that kids will understand but that will go over the heads of many adults.