One of the greatest television specials of all time, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, is celebrating its 50th birthday this year! Let’s take a moment to recognize this essential piece of our childhoods and to pay homage to the man behind it all, Charles M. Schulz.

The now-yearly tradition began on October 27, 1966, when CBS debuted the half-hour animated special — the third such Peanuts show — as part of its Thursday evening lineup. Here are a few newspaper ads from that day.

Now as far as I can tell, the first reference to the Great Pumpkin appeared in the Peanuts comic strip almost exactly 7 years before the show, in October 1959. Here is that strip:

In Club 99, I look at songs that peaked at position #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and help to put them into context. Together we can decide if the song deserved more success or got too much.

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The Song: “Nothing in the World”
The Artist: Nat King Cole
#99 Chart Date: August 11, 1958

Just one week after our last entry peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100, one of the 20th century’s greatest crooners grabbed the spot. And my friends, this is about as smooth and sumptuous a recording as we’re likely to come across during this project.

As far as I can tell, this song was actually the B-side to “Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)”, released on Capitol Records F4004, which itself peaked at #41 in September 1958.

In addition to Cole’s smoother-than-butter vocals, I really love the orchestration on this single. So it shouldn’t have surprised me to learn they were by none other than the great Nelson Riddle.

“Nothing in the World” has since been included on at least one or two Nat King Cole compilations, and should absolutely be sought out.

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To hear other songs in Club 99,  check out my Spotify playlist.

These days preserving memories of Halloween parties and trick or treating is as simple as clicking an icon on your phone. Back in the day it not only meant fumbling with a camera and film, but also finding a way to preserve all those spooky and cute memories.

To remind us all of simpler Halloween times, here is a gallery of 13 vintage slides (some Kodachrome) depicting kids (and kids at heart) getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, jack-o-lanterns, parades, and of course trick or treating for candy!

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I was a little too young to have seen the Paul Lynde Halloween Special from 1976, but as a lifelong Kiss fan I knew of it. Here’s a national newspaper ad that ABC ran for the special, which aired on October 29, 1976. Featured on the show were Tim Conway, Roz Kelly, Margaret Hamilton, Florence Henderson, Betty White, and of course the aforementioned Kiss.

If there’s one thing I love even more than Halloween, it’s a Halloween pinup. This 1940s Paulette Goddard photo is rather tame by my usual standards but it’s a beauty just the same.

After sitting out for a few years, I’m back on the roster as a Halloween Cryptkeeper! That means throughout this month you’ll see all sorts of fun, spooky posts with a Halloween theme. Along with the usual, non-scary tomfoolery of course. I’ll also be posting some scary stuff on my Tumblr and Facebook pages, so check them out too!

To join in the fun and see other blogs participating in the countdown, just click the Beistle skull icon in the upper right. And of course you can view all of my previous Halloween content by clicking here. Boo!