The Grass Roots - Pop Culture

Pop Culture

• The name Grass Roots was used sporadically by Arthur Lee of Love, in the Los Angeles area. Dunhill Records secured the legal use of the name by releasing a record, which Lee never did.
• The song "Let's Live For Today" has the identical Italian melody and virtually the same arrangement that was used in an earlier song called "Be Mine Again"; although this song includes the "One, Two, Three, Four" and "Sha-La-La-La-La" as in The Grass Roots hit, the lyrics are otherwise different. The version by the Dutch band The Skope that was released in 1966 is included on the Pebbles, Volume 15 LP.
• The band was seen in the Doris Day film With Six You Get Eggroll. They play the song "Feelings" at a crowded dance party.
• The Grass Roots have appeared on over 50 national television shows including, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams, Sonny & Cher, Good Morning America, VH1 Hit-Makers, MTV, and a record sixteen times on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
• The 1975 Self Titled LP is seen in the film FM. The back cover appears in a long DJ broadcast room scene with characters played by Cleavon Little and Martin Mull.
• The band is mentioned by John Candy's character in the film Uncle Buck. He comments about the music while navigating a teenage party looking for his missing niece.
• Guitarist Creed Bratton plays a character also named Creed Bratton, a fictional version of himself, in the US version of the television show The Office. In a scene that never aired from the episode "Booze Cruise", Bratton's boss, Michael, borrowed the guitar from a cruise ship's band and poorly plays a version of "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Bratton then takes the guitar from Michael and proceeds to surprise the rest of the passengers with his excellent playing. The scene then cuts to a confessional, where Bratton talks of his time with The Grass Roots, complete with pictures of the actual band and references to actual tours. In another deleted scene from the episode "Product Recall", a fictional Scranton Times writer notices Bratton was a member of The Grass Roots. He also sang one of his own songs titled "Spinnin' N Reelin'" in the episode "A Benihana Christmas".
• The band was mentioned frequently on the nationally syndicated Don and Mike radio show. Don Geronimo sat in with the band several times at performances in the Washington DC area.
• The Grass Roots version of the Bob Dylan song, "Ballad Of A Thin Man", was featured in the 1987 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam.
• The Grass Roots song "Midnight Confessions" was featured in the 1997 film Jackie Brown.
• The Grass Roots song "Let's Live For Today" was used in a 2008 TV commercial to promote the Volkswagen Routan.