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Alvin & the Chipmunks - Alvin and his buddies were
a group of singing chipmunks created by singer-songwriter Ross Bagdasarian
(b.1920-d.1972) in the 1950s.
Alvin, Theodore, and Simon (a.k.a "The Chipmunks") were featured in the 1958
novelty songs "Witch Doctor" and "Christmas, Don't Be Late" (a.k.a. "The
Chipmunks Song") and the 1959 sequel recording "Alvin's Harmonica" sold several million copies and won two Grammy Awards
The Chipmunks popularity earned
them an animated cartoon THE ALVIN SHOW/CBS/1961-62 that spotlighted the
misadventures of Alvin, the bratty one (with a cap and a large letter "A" on his
shirt"); Theodore, the plump, giggling one; and Simon, the brainy bookworm with
glasses as they lived in the home of their manager, David Seville (the pseudonym
of Bagdasarian).
In 1983, the Chipmunks returned to NBC in an updated Saturday
morning cartoon produced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. entitled ALVIN AND THE
CHIPMUNKS.
In 1988, the program was retitled THE CHIPMUNKS and introduced a group
of female chipmunk singer called "The Chippettes" (Brittany, Eleanor, and
Jeannette).
In the fall of 1990, the show was retitled CHIPMUNKS GO TO THE MOVIES
as Alvin and company parodied famous motion pictures.
Theme Song Lyrics
(The Alvin Show)
This is the Alvin Show, the Alvin Show
You'll positively gonna love the Alvin Show
There's Dave Seville and what is more
Here's a boy who's known as Theodore
Now you see, on camera three
The brother known as Simon on the family tree
And here's the star of the show
Alvin! Alvin!
[Narrator:] I am Clyde Crashcup.
Ready here we go: Here's the Alvin Show.
Theme Song Lyrics
(Alvin & the Chipmunks)
Watch out cause here we come
It's been a while but we're back with style
So get set to have some fun
We'll bring you action and satisfaction
We're the chipmunks
C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K
We're the chipmunks
Guaranteed to brighten your day
When you feel like a laugh
Give us a call we'll give you a roll
And if you feel like a song
Tune in to us and sing right along
We're the chipmunks
Coming on stronger than ever before
We're the chipmunks
Alvin, Simon, Theodore
The Chipmunks Early
Record/Album Covers
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1958 Album
London HA-U 2153
(Liberty 3073) |
45 RPM
1960
(Liberty 55250) |
45 RPM
1960
(Liberty 55250) |
TRIVIA NOTE: The
Chipmunk's unique sound was created by recording Bagdasarian's voice at a
slow speed and then playing it back twice as fast.
Originally, Bagdasarian was
going to use rabbits or butterflies as characters to match the high pitch
electronic voices that he created until his children (Carol, Ross, & Adam)
agreed that the speeded up voices sounded more like chipmunks.
Alvin, who played
a harmonica and wore a baseball hat was named after Al Bennett, Vice President
of Liberty Records. Simon, who wore horn-rimmed glasses was named after Si Warnoker, a record company executive. And Theodore, who was more interested in
eating than performing was named for Ted Keep, the engineer of the first
chipmunk record.
The Chipmunks Coloring Book
The Chipmunks Card Game
Acorn Hunt Game
Chipmunks Liquid Soap Bottles
External Links
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