In our never ending quest to provide all of our readers with relatable, ‘slice of life’ style content, we here at the SoBros Network feel the time to weigh in on social commentary has officially come. It’s once again time for me, Big Natural, to open up the leather-bound parchment pages of the annals of history. Put on your plush robe, light your pipe, start a fire, and get ready for deep contemplation. This is the as-often-as-I-remember-to-write-it column: Forgotten Treasures of Americana. Today, we are going to be remembering the cultural phenomenon that was the California Raisins.
Am I the only one that has faint memories of The California Raisins existing, but has no idea what The California Raisins actually were? I mean, they used to pop up all over the place when I was a kid, but I don’t have the slightest idea of what the bit actually was. All I really remember is that there was a line of toys from Hardee’s back in the day that I collected, finding one here and there at flea markets for 50 cents when I was a kid. I also had a giant California Raisins hand puppet that was made out of some Nerf-ish material. The dog used to love to get ahold of that sumbitch. I remember the commercials, too:
A++ marketing from the team at Hardee’s for planting the California Raisins in my brain like an ear worm. If y’all have ever wondered how Hardee’s has stayed in business for so long, this is why. You have 35 year old man writing about “hey remember those California Raisins Hardee’s commercials?” in the year 2022. But, wtf were these things?
A quick search of Wikipedia tells us that “The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues animated musical group as well as advertising and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized raisins.” Also, there’s a section of their Wikipedia that says “in-universe information.” WTF!?! Is there a whole California Raisins UNIVERSE?!?! Also, Wikipedia pretty much confirms that this whole routine started out as a marketing ploy that tested wildly successfully. Throughout the 1980s, this shit spiraled wildly out of control.
The California Raisins hit the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” They recorded FOUR ALBUMS. They were the subject of a television mockumentary that was nominated for a damn Emmy award. They had a Saturday morning cartoon. They were everywhere back in the day. But, I guess my indistinct memories are because my little dumb baby brain couldn’t comprehend that an act could be a television show, musical act, and a marketing gimmick at the time. Nonetheless, The California Raisins are yet another property that isn’t safe from Hollywood’s desire to reboot anything that was ever popular at any point in time. There was talk in 2015 about doing a CGI California Raisins movie. Who knew? All because of a commercial.
This is insanity.
FORGOTTEN TREASURES OF AMERICANA ARCHIVES
- The 2004 Quiznos Commercial
- 3D Doritos
- 3OH!3
- AIM
- American Gladiators
- The Basilisk
- The Bermuda Triangle
- Braided Belts
- Casey Kasem
- Citizen’s Arrest
- Gadzooks
- Hammocks In Centennial Park
- Hasbro WWF Action Figures
- Homework
- JNCO
- Mama’s Family
- Micro Machines
- Muppet Treasure Island
- Playing Outside
- Pogs
- Quicksand
- Slamball
- SNICK
- Surge
- That Marilyn Manson rumor…
- The Midnight Snack
- The Super Soaker 50
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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