# Califonia dreamin' on such a... WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927 "2006-05-08T18:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/21 "2006-05-09T05:39:11Z")
In all honesty, I was slightly relieved to see the dancers pop up. If nothing else, it answered the question “Why in the hell are they singing while surrounded by bathtubs and pipes?” ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/22 "2006-05-09T11:48:33Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > In all honesty, I was slightly relieved to see the dancers pop up. > > If nothing else, it answered the question “Why in the hell are they singing while surrounded by bathtubs and pipes?” Well, it answered that one, but raised so many more that I don’t think we can call it even. Watching them dance though only strengthens my resolution to never, ever be videotaped dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/23 "2006-05-09T16:25:23Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > If nothing else, it answered the question “Why in the hell are they singing while surrounded by bathtubs and pipes?” Remember the cover of their [first album](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TheMamasAndThePapas-IfYouCanBelieveYourEyesAndEars.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/24 "2006-05-09T16:35:13Z")
I can’t wait to view these with sound. Apparently there was no dancing pre-requisite to being a Hullaballoo dancer. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/25 "2006-05-09T16:49:06Z")
Well, I believe the intention was to draw attention away from the fact that none of the group were playing anything in the instrumental break (save John Phillips and his magic wireless guitar :rolleyes: ). Of course, they could’ve just kept the camera on Michelle Phillips and attention would certainly be drawn away from the fact that none of the group were playing anything in the instrumental… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/26 "2006-05-09T17:05:06Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > My great-grandmammy used ta says to me, you can’t frug to a flute, she’s used ta says. Every day, she says that. We all thought she’s a loony. > > But gol durn, if she ain’t right! You can’t frug to a flute! 😃 Except that I’m like 90% sure that they were doing The Swim\*. The Frug was closer to the twist and didn’t have all those arm movements (IIRC). You gotsta ask yer great-grandmammy if you can _Swim_ to a flute. Or would it be Swim to a sax? 😉 😃 Great video though! 🙂 \*But it’s not _quite_ the Swim either–there were three main moves in the swim. One was putting your hands together over your head and sort of diving, another was moving your hands as though doing a simple crawl stroke, but the third and most distinctive was take one hand and hold your nose, raise your other hand above your head and sort-of shake it/lower it as you kneeled as though you were drowning…and I didn’t see that move. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/27 "2006-05-09T17:07:03Z")
I take it back–they may start by doing the Swim but it changes once the last verse starts into a pure Frug. Nevermind. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/28 "2006-05-09T17:09:20Z")
Actually, I’d like to know about that weird shuffly dance Mama Cass was doing. Looked like she was trying not to fall _gasp_ _on a wet bathroom floor_! That’s it! Genius! ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/29 "2006-05-09T17:46:07Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > Well, I believe the intention was to draw attention away from the fact that none of the group were playing anything in the instrumental break (save John Phillips and his magic wireless guitar :rolleyes: ). Exactly what I was thinking. People can generally accept the lack of drumkits and bass guitars but the flute is a mind stretch. Enter arrhytmic bathtub dancers! ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/30 "2006-05-09T18:01:31Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Actually, I’d like to know about that weird shuffly dance Mama Cass was doing. Looked like she was trying not to fall _gasp_ _on a wet bathroom floor_! That’s it! Genius! Mama Cass always did that shuffly dance, weird bathtub dancers or no. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/31 "2006-05-09T18:41:26Z")
Dangit, the link won’t work for me. I just get a generic message > [@](#): > > You have reached YouTube, the premier digital video repository on the Internet. We are currently working on the site. > > We’ll be back soon… Does that mean it will reappear sometime later? ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/32 "2006-05-09T18:52:24Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Dangit, the link won’t work for me. I just get a generic message Does that mean it will reappear sometime later? Yeah. youtube is getting really popular on the net, so they undertake some constructioning now and then. Just check back in an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/33 "2006-05-09T18:56:30Z")
Too bad NBC tossed the color videotapes of this show in the 1970s. Only a few survive, and apparently this episode was not among them. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/34 "2006-05-09T19:19:18Z")
> [@cactus waltz](#): > > Enter arrhytmic bathtub dancers! I nominate this as the next SDMB non-sequitor, a la penis ensues. Of course, by making this observation, I have jinxed it from ever coming about… ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/35 "2006-05-09T19:56:26Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > I nominate this as the next SDMB non-sequitor, a la penis ensues. …neither of these is a [non sequitur](http://m-w.com/dictionary/non%20sequitur). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/36 "2006-05-09T20:16:51Z")
A lot of these set designs for **Ed Sullivan, Mike Douglas,** and evidently **Hullaballoo** were put together by people fully a generation older than the acts they were displaying, old-timers with no affinity for Rock ‘n’ Roll music. I strongly suspect that this is why Lorne Michaels wanted as many staffers as possible on **Saturday Night Live** to be under 30 (a stance he quickly abandoned). I know Elvis was particularly mortified by his **Ed Sullivan** appearance where he sang “Hound Dog” to a…dog. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/37 "2006-05-09T20:29:00Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I know Elvis was particularly mortified by his **Ed Sullivan** appearance where he sang “Hound Dog” to a…dog. I saw that clip in my rock history class this semester. He tried to hide how he felt about it while he was doing it, but he was clearly having a WTF moment. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/38 "2006-05-09T20:47:02Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > A lot of these set designs for **Ed Sullivan, Mike Douglas,** and evidently **Hullaballoo** were put together by people fully a generation older than the acts they were displaying, old-timers with no affinity for Rock ‘n’ Roll music. I strongly suspect that this is why Lorne Michaels wanted as many staffers as possible on **Saturday Night Live** to be under 30 (a stance he quickly abandoned). > > I know Elvis was particularly mortified by his **Ed Sullivan** appearance where he sang “Hound Dog” to a…dog. That was on the Steve Allen show. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/39 "2006-05-11T03:38:45Z")
Are those the same dancers who were in the “Bilbo Baggins” video? (Seriously, are they? It’s entirely possible.) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927/40 "2006-05-11T03:50:44Z")
“The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” was made for the ABC summer replacement show \*[Malibu U.](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0061276/) (1967), which showcased music acts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/califonia-dreamin-on-such-a-wtf/355927.md?page=3)