But actually to me, one of the most interesting parts of that story was this little section on the California Dancing Raisins ads from the '80s. First aired on September 14, 1986, Werner's idea for a 30-second television commercial introduced audiences to The California Raisins, a group of anthropomorphized raisins with expressive. Almost across the board, everyone I spoke to had good things to say about the ad itself. Losin' you would end my life you see. The Dancing California Raisins were a go. Vintage California Raisins Posable, Puppets, Bank, Wind up toy. These albums were included in the Smithsonian collection and were illustrated and art-directed by Helane Freeman, who later became famous for her work on Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, among other Disney programs. It wasn't at The Fillmore in San Francisco or the Troubadour in LA. And the answer is usually 'we don't know.. but probably not.' And the US, by the way, is the second largest raisin producer in the entire world. With lead vocals by former Jimi Hendrix and Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles, the Raisins put out two platinum albums, and spun out a Michael Jackson soundalike ad as well as a spot voiced by the real Ray Charles. It's that simple. But as that money flowed back into CALRAB's coffers, the disagreements became more serious. KB: And at this point, even though I had to vote to kill it, I side on the other side, where I helped put that program together, and was successful for ten years. TikTok video from Shug (@sonyastanford2). So, give them raisins! Required fields are marked *. Very serious-like. Because, in Fresno, California Raisins has always meant something bigger than a couple of claymation figurines singing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine.". We were so embarrassed. In 2010, claymation versions of the California Raisins were featured in the special Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "A Very Sunny Christmas". He said: WERNER: He would not approve the nose that I put on the raisin, no matter what I did, he wouldn't approve of it! And, when it went down, so did the Dancing California Raisins. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. But back in 1994, almost ten years after the first dancing raisins ad aired, that good feeling was nowhere to be found. SW: This is Matthew Malcolm again. So, growers and packers paid a tax on every ton of raisins they produced. And, for better or worse, they're also in it together on that front. But in 1994, the. Constitution Avenue, NW I Heard It Through the Grapevine features a clip the movie The Big Chill where a group of teenagers in a library who are listening to the song through headphones which leads them to dance . MM: At every industry meeting I go to, it seems like someone's asking, some raisin grower's asking 'are you ever going to bring the raisin, dancing raisins back?' The game was completed and several video game critics reviewed it, but it was never released on the open market. Listen to music by California Raisins on Apple Music. But I think we're heading in a positive direction now. SPEAKER FOUR: I even had little figurinesSPEAKER FIVE: I remember seeing them in my toy chestSPEAKER ONE: They were part of some happy meal kind of thing CH: The dancing raisins were invited to light the National Christmas Tree at the White House. Werner's big idea was going to be a risk, especially without the celebrity spokesperson the client had requested. Whod have ever thought that a beloved Motown classic would be brought back to life by a bunch of animated dried fruit? No, not really. If no one liked it, the raisin industry could not get that money back. Unlike the smaller brands in the industry, it could afford to pay for that space. It keeps you in shape. BK: There's always been a 'If it's good for Sunmaid, it's gotta be bad for them.' SW: But in some ways, it may be in the same place as it was in the '80s. SW: Clyde E. Nef, who was CALRAB's manager at the time, wrote about Seth's performance and the board's reaction in his book, The Fruits of Their Labors. Or did the dancing California raisins cause more trouble than they were worth? SW: But by 1994, the packers had reached a consensus. And, I didn't know this, but nearly 100 percent of the raisins the U.S. produces come from within a 60 mile radius of the city. Watch the video for I Heard It Through the Grapevine from California Raisins's Sing The Hit Songs for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CALIFORNIA RAISINS: i heard it through the grapevine PRIORITY 7" Single 45 RPM at the best online prices at eBay! But these tears I can't hold inside. SPEAKER EIGHT: And I guess subliminally, it probably worked because I do remember eating raisins as a snack. And by the end of the night, all anyone could agree on was that one of the siblings was getting a bigger cut than everyone else. California Raisins poster vintage 1987 Heard it Through The Grapevine. I was in the room when it got killed! [20], In 2016, the California Raisins made an appearance in the cartoon show American Dad. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. There it is. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. ', 'Today during Ryan's Hope I saw the cutest commercial. RV: I said, 'I think that's a great idea.' Not much longer would you be mine baby. So they'd pose them, they'd take a picture of that, then they'd re-pose them slightly in a slightly different pose, take a picture of that. And if you don't have a consensus, it doesn't matter. And call them nature's candy. They needed to be the life of the snack bar. CEO of the wine bargaining association for five years. The plot of the game involved Tiny Goodbite having to rescue his friends who have been kidnapped and held in a cereal factory. So, just like at Thanksgiving dinner, while CALRAB tried to calm everyone down and broker peace from the head of the table, squabbling raisin packers aired old grudges and argued about who was and was not getting their fair share of the cash. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. Lead vocals in the group were sung by musician Buddy Miles. But in 1994, the raisin industry abruptly pulled the plug on the ad and its spinoffs, and still debates whether or not it was successful. While the songs popularized the phrase, they inspired the hit kids cartoon series "The California Raisins" in the 1990s. SW: Michael Brunsfeld was the commercial animation director at a company called Colossal Pictures, which had been contracted to do a mockup of the ad. And if you ever saw him. SW: But even as the dancing raisins scored these victories, back in Fresno, things were heating up. And they had good reasons to be! And so Will said 'well finally I took Janet's nose and put that on the raisin and he bought it [snaps fingers] like that.'. Like, who was allowed to borrow the actual dancing raisins costume CALRAB had? Find top songs and albums by California Raisins including I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town and more. But despite it all, by a very narrow margin, more than half the room voted to greenlight the ad. (laughs) That's just the way it is. WERNER: We created this huge conga line that came out of a box of raisins and danced on the coffee table while this husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend were watching a movie, and they were unaware that all this was happening in its own little world. Needless to say, their band history borrowed heavily from the types of origin stories real bands tended to have. Demand was down. Produced by Sarah Wyman, with Charlie Herman and Julia Press. These wildly popular clay animation raisins grew into far more than their creators had ever dreamed of. WERNER: We still thought it was cool. And some of them played instruments, maybe?SPEAKER TWO: All dancing in the real world, but in their little clay situation.SPEAKER THREE: They were disproportionately raisinly huge. ', SW: Barry Kriebel was president of Sunmaid at the time. Watch the video for I Heard It Through the Grapevine from California Raisins's Sing The Hit Songs for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. We'll do that.'. If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! Not much longer would you be mine. I'm Charlie Herman. But of course, that was not really the end of it. I grew up in California, and it felt like they were everywhere. You know how families can be about money. And because they were big companies, not headquartered in the Fresno circle, they were not at the table, and participating in all of this back-and-forth. Heard it, heard it! SW: Paul. Not this time, however! And their arms were like small, and they had like little legs. In order to be successful, this big "family" has to work together. And this broke the mold. Yeah the good news is the industry is at a point where people are working together more than they have historically, at least in the past 20 years or so. Director. SPEAKER FIVE: Every time that commercial would come on, my mom would sing and dance to that song. During the peak of their popularity in the late '80s, the California Raisins also had a fan club, merchandise that spanned from plush toys to lunch boxes to air fresheners, and a series of comic books. Everyone is hungering for unity again, they just have to find something to unify around. SW: Between 1986 and 1992, the Dancing Raisins raked in more than 7 million dollars in licensing fees. SPEAKER NINE: Definitely didn't make me any more of a fan of raisins. SPEAKER FOUR: I loved those commercials as a kid, they were so cool. I mean, really, most of us don't give raisins a whole lot of attention..they are just kind of everywhere: in our cereals, bagels, and, of course, kid's lunch boxes. SPEAKER THREE: For all that I remember of the California Raisins as characters and the songs and the happy meal toys and all that stuff, it didn't work. And a lot people, including many of our listeners, still remember it really well. The success of the dancing raisins exposed fractures in the industry which had been forming just under the surface for decades. The California Raisins are a fictional rhythm and blues musical group comprised of anthropomorphized raisins. If there's anything we can do for you, please give me a call'. But there was enough leadership to sway the ones that weren't smart enough to realize what a good program it was. The California Raisins released four studio albums on Priority Records, BMG, and ZTT Records between 1987 to 1994, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 84 or 85. If you saw a commercial you liked, you couldn't look it up on YouTube and send a link to a friend. And so he says, 'Ok fine. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. And though the process is time-consuming and expensive, Werner's performance managed to win them over. Even if you weren't alive to see the advertisements, TV. Web. He watched the original commercial spin off into more and more distant territory. SW: Yeah, that did not go over well within the industry. High-top sneakers, sunglasses, and endless swagger. And as that rift widened, the raisins fell right through it. I says, 'in Canada? (981) $9.95. It had about five million dollars to spend, which, in ad money, is not a lot. SW: Kalem was voting on behalf of the packer he worked for. HO: Well there's there's definitely 12:02 some discussion about that I mean in its infancy right now. They used themselves to make them human. Get instant explanation for any lyrics that hits you anywhere on the web! Box Office Software produced a different, unrelated California Raisins computer game in 1988 for the Apple II, Commodore 64, and PC compatibles. WERNER: 'Dear NBC, After weeks of trying to find out who to congratulate on a recent national ad, I came up with nothing. Post's Raisin Bran cereal took advantage of the increasingly popular dried fruit and teamed up with the Raisins to help promote their boxed cereal, and fast food chain Hardees bought a license to produce the incredibly popular collectible Raisins figurines. SW: Buddy Miles, who'd been the drummer for Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix, flew to California to record the vocals in Ross's studio. The California Raisins merchandising snowballed into 300 different products, including clothing, bed sheets, Halloween costumes, car accessories, lunch boxes, and even toilet paper.
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