Way Out Wednesday: “Goofy Grape Sings (with the Whole Funny Face Gang)”

SummerÁ¢€â„¢s coming very soon, so I thought I put in this sweet treat for you. In 1964 there debuted a series of drink mixes called Funny Face. They had cool mascots like Goofy Grape, Loudmouth Lime, RootinÁ¢€â„¢ TootinÁ¢€â„¢ Raspberry, and more. They were even sugar free! How could a great idea like this go wrong? Well, the reason they were sugar free was that they were sweetened with cyclamates, which were eventually banned by the FDA because they caused cancer in rats. The drinks came back, sweetened with saccharine (which wasnÁ¢€â„¢t declared a bad thing yet), but I donÁ¢€â„¢t think they ever recovered, and so weÁ¢€â„¢re left with Kool Aid. A freakin’ pitcher with a face drawn on it. He didnÁ¢€â„¢t even have stubby arms and legs back then! Man, what were we thinking? I think we were coerced by Kool Aid spokespeople like Bugs Bunny and the Monkees.

Anyway, this record was a premium from Funny Face. It features all the Funny Face characters at the time singing songs about themselves. LetÁ¢€â„¢s drink it in, shall we?

First we have Goofy Grape performing Á¢€Å“Howdee!Á¢€ Boy, that Goofy Grape sure is goofy, ainÁ¢€â„¢t he?

Goofy Grape – Howdee!

Next, Choo-Choo Cherry comes on the scene to sing a little ditty about Á¢€Å“My Whistle.Á¢€ You may think itÁ¢€â„¢s really Á¢€Å“SheÁ¢€â„¢ll Be Coming Round the Mountain,Á¢€ but itÁ¢€â„¢s not.

Choo-Choo Cherry – My Whistle

Loudmouth Lime is next to sing (well, yell actually) his song called Á¢€Å“Hello Hello Hello.Á¢€ HeÁ¢€â„¢s a pretty distinctive character, but did kids really care for lime flavored drinks?

Loudmouth Lime – Hello Hello Hello

RootinÁ¢€â„¢ TootinÁ¢€â„¢ Raspberry confesses to being born as Á¢€Å“A Cowboy Named FauntleroyÁ¢€ in his song. YouÁ¢€â„¢ve gotta admit; Fauntleroy really isnÁ¢€â„¢t much of a cowboy name. RTR does a good job of selling the song, though!

Rootin’ Tootin’ Raspberry – A Cowboy Named Fauntleroy

Next is an original song led by Goofy Grape called Á¢€Å“Playground.Á¢€ This one had some pretty hip-sounding accompaniment for its time.

The Funny Face Chorus – Playground

Freckle-Face Strawberry is next in line. He sings that he didnÁ¢€â„¢t have any freckles when he was born, but once he got out in the sun, that all changed. ThatÁ¢€â„¢s why Á¢€Å“I Got 51 Freckles.Á¢€

Freckle-Face Strawberry – I Got 51 Freckles

Next is fellow southpaw Lefty LemonÁ¢€â„¢s turn. He sings a sad tune about Á¢€Å“Why I Left Baseball.Á¢€ OK, itÁ¢€â„¢s really more silly than sad. Thankfully there were no steroids involved.

Lefty Lemon – Why I Left Baseball

The last character we meet on the record is Jolly Olly Orange who sings about how he likes to Á¢€Å“Laugh Laugh Laugh.Á¢€

Jolly Olly Orange – Laugh Laugh Laugh

The last song on the record is Á¢€Å“The Funny Face Drinking SongÁ¢€ with the whole gang. Hey, itÁ¢€â„¢s not a good premium record unless you take some time to pimp the product!

The Funny Face Chorus – Funny Face Drinking Song

You might wonder why I used every song on the record this time. Well, first of all, the songs were pretty short. But the main reason is to highlight the vocal talents of Paul Frees, who played every one of these characters! Pretty talented guy, huh?

Anyway, if youÁ¢€â„¢d like to download the entire record, along with a book about how the Funny Face characters got their names, you can get it right here!

And here’s an added bit of trivia: When Funny Face was introduced in 1964, two of the flavors were Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry. Reportedly these were changed due to complaints of racial stereotyping.

BONUS: Last year, an animation company put together a pilot for a new Funny Face cartoon show. I think it looks pretty cool myself. See what you think: