What ever happened to these guys, anyway? Did they get an E! True Hollywood Story? Or did they just fade into obscurity?
I once worked with a guy who collected California Raisins memorabilia. His office was full of it. Maybe he gave me this button; I don’t recall.
Wellll…..I heard it through the grapevine, that, as with all overused jingles, the public may have become saturated to the point of diminished returns and lost interest. Or something else. heh.
Poor raisins.
I heard it through the grape vine
But, actually, this is the one I remember: http://youtu.be/_PNPw5ozU0U
I love Ray Charles.
I’m thinking the PC Police may have had some say in the matter. Stranger things have happened in the name of pc.
They sang with Ray Charles!
(Did you ever, perchance, see an old standup with Whoopi Goldberg about the “Old Raisin?”)
I could be wrong (and frequently am). I do believe when it comes to racism, in our current climate, people (and corporations!) are pretty skittish of anything that might remotely be viewed by folks sensitive to this volatile issue…even the harmless raisin guys singing with The Great Ray Charles. I always liked the singing raisins, but would be surprised at their reemergence. And, no, I haven’t seen Whoopi’s stand-up about them, although I did try to find it on YouTube.
If you can see this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5nqSdxpidw
It’s around the 35 minute mark. But the entire show–it’s kind of crazy how it can be more than twenty years old and still funny, poignant, sad, interesting. (Strong language.)
The California Raisins are still alive and well on the California Raisin website and occasionally on a box of raisins at the grocery. They are also quite popular as a Halloween costume. I tried to go to a costume party as a California Raisin, but everyone thought I was a handicapped prune.
Ha ha ha! Nobody wants to hear singing prunes, do they? It’s a cruel world.
Well, prunes are rather wrinkled.
I am imagining the song they might sing
Wasn’t there a song..?
Sure–they covered “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”