Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band created by Ross Bagdasarian for a novelty record in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks named Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. They are managed by their human adoptive father, David "Dave" Seville.
David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the producer and manager of the fictional singing group Alvin and the Chipmunks. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. Bagdasarian had used the name "David Seville" as his stage name prior to the creation of the Chipmunks, while writing and recording novelty records in the 1950s. One of the records, recorded in 1958 under the David Seville stage name, was "Witch Doctor", featuring a sped-up high-pitched vocal technique. Bagdasarian would later use that technique in "The Chipmunk Song ", which would introduce both Alvin and the Chipmunks as a singing group and Bagdasarian's music producer "Dave". Bagdasarian would go on to create The Alvin Show, based on the Alvin and the Chipmunks group, where he voiced the semi-fictional character David Seville, based largely on himself, with Alvin based on Ross's sometimes rebellious son Adam.
Ross S. Bagdasarian, known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmunks. Initially a stage and film actor, he rose to prominence in 1958 with the songs "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song ", which both became Billboard number-one singles. He produced and directed The Alvin Show, which aired on CBS in 1961–62.
"Come on-a My House" is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney and originally released in 1951. It was written by Ross Bagdasarian and his cousin, Armenian-American Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan, while driving across New Mexico in the summer of 1939. The melody is based on an Armenian folk song. The lyrics reference traditional Armenian customs of inviting over relatives and friends and providing them with a generously overflowing table of fruits, nuts, seeds, and other foods.
A Chipmunk Christmas is a 1981 animated Christmas television special based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Produced by Bagdasarian Productions in association with Chuck Jones Enterprises, it first aired on NBC December 14, 1981, nine years after the death of Alvin and the Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian Sr.. This was the first time that Alvin, Simon and David Seville were voiced by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and the first time that Theodore was voiced by Janice Karman.
Chipmunk Punk is an album by the Chipmunks, as well as being the first album released by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., after he took over the voices of the Chipmunks after the death of his father in 1972. Despite the title of the album, none of the songs listed are considered to be in the style of real punk rock music. It was released on June 15, 1980. The album peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the RIAA on October 14, 1980, becoming the Chipmunks' first gold record. In 2005, it was re-released on CD, although the CD was only available through the official Chipmunks website. In Canada, the album reached No. 59.
Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval (transposition) are called pitch shifters.
"Witch Doctor" is a 1958 American novelty song written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, under his stage name David Seville. It became a number one hit and rescued Liberty Records from near bankruptcy.
Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks is the debut album of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It is an interactive children's novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and customized original musical material. It contains the A-sides of the Chipmunks' first three singles: "The Chipmunk Song ", "Alvin's Harmonica" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". The artist credit on the original release was listed as Ross Bagdasarian.
Urban Chipmunk was the first country album by Alvin and the Chipmunks, released on February 4, 1981. The title parodies the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.
"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a 1966 novelty record written and performed by Jerry Samuels, and released on Warner Bros. Records. The song became an instant success in the United States, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 popular music singles chart on August 13, No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100 charts, No. 2 in Canada, and reaching No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Chipmunk Song " is a novelty Christmas song written by Ross Bagdasarian in 1958. Bagdasarian sang and recorded the song, varying the tape speeds to produce high-pitched "chipmunk" voices, with the vocals credited to Alvin and the Chipmunks, Seville's cartoon virtual band. The song won three Grammy Awards in 1958, for Best Comedy Performance, Best Children's Recording, and Best Engineered Record (non-classical).
Sing Again with The Chipmunks is Alvin and the Chipmunks' second album, released by Liberty Records in January 1960. The album follows the same format as their first album, and contains the group's fifth and sixth singles—"Alvin's Orchestra" and "Comin' 'Round the Mountain". Since its initial release, Sing Again with The Chipmunks has appeared twice on CD; both releases utilized the revised 1961 cover artwork, minus the song lyrics printed on the original back cover.
The Alvin Show is a music album by Alvin and the Chipmunks. It is the soundtrack album to the Chipmunks' first animated television series The Alvin Show. Upon the release of the album, the Chipmunks' first three albums were reissued with revised album cover art that utilized the cartoon redesigns of the characters.
Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a popular western swing song. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills.
"Alvin for President" is a non-album single by the fictional musical group, Alvin and the Chipmunks. The song was released as a single in 1960 and was the group's last chart entry on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart. This recording used the same music bed as another song, "I Wish I Could Speak French". The song was eventually adapted as a musical sequence on The Alvin Show the following year.
Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2007 American live-action/computer animated musical comedy film directed by Tim Hill. Based on the characters of the same name created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., the film stars Jason Lee, David Cross and Cameron Richardson, while Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney play the self-titled Chipmunks.
The Chipmunk Songbook is an album by Alvin and the Chipmunks with David Seville. It was released on January 1, 1962, by Liberty Records.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is a 2011 American live action/computer animated musical-family-comedy-adventure film directed by Mike Mitchell. It is the third film starring Alvin and the Chipmunks following the 2009 film The Squeakquel, and the first. The film's main cast includes Jason Lee, David Cross and Jenny Slate. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris, and Christina Applegate return as the Chipmunks and Chipettes, respectively. Distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Company. The film was released on December 16, 2011 and grossed $343 million on an $80 million budget, to even worse reviews than the previous films. A fourth film, The Road Chip, was released on December 18, 2015.
