Remembering Cereal Box Records As Bobby Sherman Turns 72

Singer Bobby Sherman turns 72 today (July 22) which gives us an opportunity to look back at a time when breakfast cereals weren't just about the cereal.

Bobby Sherman had a string of top 10 hits in the late 1960's and early 70's like "Easy Come, Easy Go", "La, La, La," and "Julie, Do You Love Me." Many of us were introduced to Bobby's music on the back of Post cereal boxes. You buy a box of cereal like Honeycomb or Raisin Bran and on the back of the box would be a record that you could cut out and actually play on a record player.

Some of these records had multiple songs, while others were singles. The one I remember was "Seattle,"  which was never released by Sherman as a single. The song sung by the New Establishments was theme song of the late 60's TV show "Here Come the Brides," which Sherman co-starred in with David Soul.("Starsky and Hutch") I don't remember ever seeing the TV show, but I absolutely loved Bobby Sherman's "'Seattle," though I can't really explain why.

By the way, old-timers might remember Perry Como's version of "Seattle,'' which he recorded during the show's first season and it became a top 40 hit for him.

What is remarkable about the cardboard 45s is how good they actually sounded. Of course, nothing compares to the sound of today's hi-fidelity, but back in the day when we didn't have compact discs and digital recordings, it was pretty good stuff.

Bobby Sherman wasn't the only artist using breakfast cereal to reach young fans. You could also find artists like  the Archies, the Monkees, and the Jackson Five on the back of a box of Post cereal. You can find these on e-bay, ranging from $10-$50.

While Bobby Sherman is probably best known for the top 10 hit "Julie, Do You Love Me", for some of us he will always take us back in time to a box of Honeycomb.

By the way, here's the opening from the TV show "Here Come the Brides." If you remember this, it's likely you are older than me.