California Raisins
| California Raisins I Heard it Through the Grapevine Song Lyrics: Oooh I heard it through the grapevine Raised the California sunshine! California Raisins from the California vineyards Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine Sounds grape doesn't it! |
You've heard the song. You've seen the dancing raisins. But is the real story behind these sweet dancing friends?
The singing raisins were omnipresent during the middle to the end of the 1980s. They made so many cool collectibles including PVC figurines, lunchboxes, books, cds that were sold all across North America, and beloved by millions. Pardon the pun, but things were "grape"! Here's how it all started: in 1986, the California Raisin Advisory Board wanted to create new advertising to sell raisins. Many different ads had been tried in the past, leaving an exasperated Seth Werner (from the ad agency Foote, Cone & Belding) to say, "We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It through the Grapevine'". An idea was born, and an almost unstoppable force was created - the California Raisins phenomenon had begun! The California Raisins quartet consists of: AC, Beebop on drums, Stretch on bass, and Red on piano.
To make their TV commercial, Will Vinton's Emmy-award winning Claymation studio was hired to create the four raisins, and singer Buddy Miles was hired to provide R&B vocals. To say that response was positive was an understatement. Everyone who saw the commercials in 1986 was talking about it - regardless if they loved it. The powerful look of the Claymation raisins singing classic songs was the type of thing that got TV viewers to pay attention. The California Raisins were now a singing and dancing cultural force. People wanted more Raisins - so licensed toys were introduced.
In 1987, the most recognizable icons of the California Raisins empire came into being - molded Raisins figurines from Hardee's, licensed and distributed by Hardee's restaurants to promote their breakfast line of raisin cinnamon biscuits. Combined with the television ads, the California Raisins were everywhere. In 1987, the Raisins released the first of their music albums. The Raisins were inescapable - the raisins, figurines and songs invaded the collective unconscious, and a cultural phenomenon was unleashed. More figurines were made during 1987, 1988 and 1991. Between 1987 and 1988 five albums were released - by a group that did not technically exist, except as Claymation raisins.
The California raisins have done it all! Five whole albums, endless TV commercials, a cartoon TV show, figurines - even a Michael Jackson Raisin - all born from a simple TV commercial.
2001 saw the rebirth of the California Raisins - new figurines were introduced, and a new generation of the purple ones adorns the official California Raisin Advisory Board website. The California Raisins live on!
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