The Good Ole Radio

The radio these days is silent, and void of what once was a golden phenomenon. Today you never hear much about these masters of the one hit wonder. Let's take a short visit back in time to a much simpler time, before music videos started to dominate the airwaves. Back in the day they were all sensations beyond belief with just about every age group imaginable, and no one could seem to get enough of these little music machines. However today they are all but missing in action.

There has been an untold amount of one hit wonders over the years like "Come on Eileen" by the English pop group Dexys Midnight Runners, "99 Red Balloons" Performed By Nena, "Mickey" by Toni Basil, "Funky Town" by Lipps, Inc, "Don't Worry Be Happy" by musician Bobby McFerrin, "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant, "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr., and many many more. A one hit wonder is simply a term used to describe music performers with only one hit single that ever really amounted to anything. Normally it's a person or an act known mainly for only one single success in their career. However this one particular one hit wonder really stands out, because of the way these talented little guys were performing this remix of the great Marvin Gaye's legendary 1968 song.

Never before or ever again will there be such a sensation as this group, who all came out of the state of California back in 1986. I'm talking about the one and only singing & dancing California Raisins. Even though they were all simply dried grapes, the California Raisins all experienced high popularity back in the mid-to-late 1980s making a strong impression through animated endeavors.

It seems just like yesterday, but I can still vividly remember these little plastic raisins, which all were acquired from out of a tasty McDonald's happy meal, lined up on my desk belting out a chorus of "I heard it through the grapevine". It was really a struggle back in those times to get a complete set of the California raisins. There was a lot of tough competition from everyone else and their mother who were also trying to get all of those California raisins for their collections, however with a little trading it could be done. I'm not sure today if I ever had the complete set of those little singing & dancing California raisins, because they kept adding more and more different figurines as time went on, but I can tell you it wasn't for any lack of trying. As I wrote this hub for all to read and see, I looked high and low for my collection of California raisins, however to this very moment they are all still missing in action.

The song "I heard it through the grapevine" is one of those magical songs that if you hear it or just start whistling it, will be in your head all day long. I dare you to even try to attempt to say otherwise.