The California Raisins Singer

Illustration of a raisin with arms and legs wearing a blue bowtie and black and white tennis shoes and holding a microphone with blue and black text on a white background

The California Raisins are a fictional rhythm and blues musical group created in 1987 by the California Raisin Advisory Board as a promotional gimmick for Sun-Maid Raisins.The commercials utilized claymation to deliver performances by anthropomorphized raisins. These ads gained enough popularity to produce merchandise and promotion through tie-ins such as Hardee’s Cinnamon ‘N’ Raisin biscuits and Post Raisin Bran cereal. Buddy Miles was responsible for lead vocals as the character "A.C.", and sang tunes such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” a revival of Marvin Gaye’s 1968 hit.