It's So Cheesy

JOHN COUGAR Mellencamp has stopped playing sixties songs as encores because too many of them have been used in TV commercials.

I know how he feels. When "I Heard It. Through the Grapevine" came on the radio, I used to imagine Marvin Gaye, with tears in his eyes, singing to the woman he loved. Now I think of four fat grapes, dressed in tuxedos, singing about California Raisins.

To quote Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On?" In the words of Otis Redding, "How about a little respect?" Unfortunately, when I hear "Dock of the Bay" I no longer think about Otis wasting time in San Francisco but about smiling yuppies drinking Hires root beer.

It's enough to make John Cougar Mellancamp cry "Oh Boy." If he sees the new Ford ad, he might let out "Oh Buick." Although "It's So Easy (To Buy Tercel)," it is not easy to listen to these rock and roll classics remade and then overplayed. Roll Over Buddy Holly.

While advertisers have used pop songs by such current artists as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, David Bowie and Lou Reed, they seem to especially like oldies. They get great melodies. the Crystals' "Da Do Ron Ron" stays in your head while effectively plugging the Energizer. And these songs evoke a happy (read: when they were younger) time in the lives of many consumers.

Where will it end? Will we soon get "Lola (Likes Pepsi-Cola)," "Who'll Unstop the Drain," "Goodnight Sweetheartburn Goodnight", or as Saturday Night Live has suggested "Hey Hey You You (Leggo My Eggo)."

Of course, some people feel the remakes are superior to the originals. While one person might like "Wouldn't It Be Nice (If We Were Older)" better than "Wouldn't It Be Nice (To Sip A Sunkist," someone else might hate the Beach Boys and love orange soda.

Nearly everyone likes "Mac Tonight." The original song--"Mack the Knife"--is bland while the new version is MacRight. It is fun to watch a guy with a moonhead stop in the middle of piano playing to belt out "dinner!" like a hungry ten-year-old Liberace.

Still, one wishes that Madison Avenue would leave the best oldies alone. No Marvin. No Aretha. Frankie Avalon, sure, but no Elvis Presley. Gerry and the Pacemakers, please, but don't mess with the Crystals or the Drifters. But as Buddy Holly sang, "That'll Be the Day."

A record has just come out featuring versions of great sixties songs redone by a mediocre eighties band. Dried fruit smile on the cover. The name of the group: The California Raisins.