On June 19th, 1986, the California Raisins made their first appearance in a clay-mation commercial for Sun-Maid California Raisins. The concept was created by advertising firm Foote, Cone, and Belding, when one of the writers, Seth Werner, suggested "dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'". Surprisingly, the commercial became highly popular, and launched the California Raisins to stardom. The success of the Raisins led to four studio albums in 1987 and 1988, with lead vocals by Buddy Miles, as well as multiple television specials - one of which won an Emmy Award. They also received a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon series, "The California Raisin Show", that only lasted for 13 episodes. The California Raisins were discontinued on July 31st, 1994, after the collapse of the California Raisin Advisory Board.
