Alvin and the Chipmunks

[AwallaceUNC]

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The Chipmunks

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Primary Genres: Pop, Rock, Holiday, Comedy
Seconday Genres/Styling: Showtunes, Country, Standards
Permanent Band Members: Alvin, Simon, Theodore
Occasional Band Member: David Seville
Estimated Total Worldwide Sales: 43,000,000+
US #1 Singles (Primary Chart): 2
US #1 Albums: 0
US Top 40 Singles (US Hot Chart): 2
Grammys: 7
Grammy Nominations: 20
Albums Certified, Gold, Platinum, or Multi-Platinum: 12
Living: Yes
Active: Yes

Official Discography

<table width="75%" border="1"><tr><td>Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks (1959) (Grammy)</td><td>A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)</td><td>Alvin's Daydreams (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>Sing Again with the Chipmunks (1960)</td><td>Urban Chipmunk (1981)</td><td>Chipmunk Celebration (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>Around the World with the Chipmunks (1960)</td><td>Chipmunk Rock (1982)</td><td>Easter Chipmunk (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>The Alvin Show (1961)</td><td>The Chipmunks Go Hollywood (1982)</td><td>When You Wish Upon a Chipmunk (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>Christmas with the Chipmunks, Vol. 1 (1962)</td><td>Songs From Our TV Shows (1984)</td><td>A Very Merry Chipmunk (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>The Chipmunk Songbook (1962)</td><td>The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)</td><td>The Very Best of The Chipmunks (1995)</td></tr><tr><td>Christmas with the Chipmunks, Vol. 2 (1963)</td><td>Rockin' Through the Decades (1990)</td><td>Club Chipmunk: The Dance Mixes (1996)</td></tr><tr><td>The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hits (1964)</td><td>Chipmunks in Low Places (1992)</td><td>The A-Files: Alien Songs (1998)</td></tr><tr><td>Chipmunks 'a-Go-Go (1965)</td><td>Greatest Hits (1992)</td><td>Greatest Hits: Still Squeaky After All These Years (1999)</td></tr><tr><td>The Chipmunks Sing with Children (1965)</td><td>The Alternative Alvin (1993)</td><td>Merry Christmas from the Chipmunks (2003)</td></tr><tr><td>The Chipmunks See Doctor Dolittle (1968)</td><td>Alvin's Christmas Carol (1993)</td><td>Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks (2004)</td></tr><tr><td>The Chipmunks Go to the Movies (1969)</td><td>Sing-Alongs (1993)</td><td>--</td></tr><tr><td>Chipmunk Punk (1980)</td><td>Here's Looking at Me! (1994)</td><td>--</td></tr></table>

Select Filmography/Home Video Releases
"The Alvin Show" (1961)
A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)
"Alvin & the Chipmunks" (1983)
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)
Alvin and the Chipmunks/Five Decades with the Chipmunks (1990)
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999)
Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)
Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks (2005)

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Most Popular Songs
The Chipmunk Song (3 Grammys) (#1)
Witch Doctor (2 Grammys) (#1)
We're the Chipmunks
All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
Uptown Girl
Surfin' USA
Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Achy Breaky Heart
Macarena
Call Me
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
It's Beginning To Look A Lot like Christmas
Alvin's Harmonica (Grammy)
Here We Come A-Caroling
It's My Party
We're the Chipmunks/Beat It
On the Road Again
E.T. and Me
She Loves You
The Alvin Show
The Twelve Days of Christmas
A Hard Day's Night
I Wish I Could Speak French
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Deck the Halls
America the Beautiful
Tonight, You Belong to Me
Can't Buy Me Love
All My Loving
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Alvin For President
Do-Re-Mi
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Japanese Banana
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Whistle While You Work
Chipmunk Fun
If You Love Me (Alouette)
Remember a Day
I Wish I Had a Horse

Notable Facts
*They are the most successful fictional music group of all time
*"The Christmas Song" single sold more than four million copies in just seven weeks
*They are often partnered with a fictional group of the Chipmunks' female counterparts, The Chipettes, which originated in the "Alvin & the Chipmunks" TV series
*They are primarily known both for their holiday recordings and for their pop culture-focused brand of comedy
*They are currently the subject of several legal battles involving Bagdasarian Productions, Universal Pictures, and the creators of the "Chipmunks Gangsta Rap" parody
*"The Christmas Song" is frequently covered even by non-chipmunks. The Chipmunks appeared on Jaci Velasquez' 2001 Christmas album in a duet remake of the song
*Relient K tends to open their live shows with a recording of "We're the Chipmunks"
* The Bob Rivers Comedy Corp released Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire in 2000, part of their Twisted Christmas CD series. The album parodies "The Chipmunk Song" in "The Twisted Chipmunk Song", which is followed by the title track, which continues the "Twisted Chipmunk" storyline with Dave Seville's revenge.
*They have been nominated for 3 Emmy Awards and 2 Young Artist Awards and have won one Golden Reel Award.
*They won the first Grammy ever awarded for children's music
*Buena Vista Home Entertainment briefly distributed Chipmunks home videos in the early 1990s
*Ross Bagdasarian's son heads up his production company today, attempting to ensure that his father's creations remain vibrant and faithful to the original vision
*Many celebrities have performed duets with the Chipmunks or appeared in their TV shows and films
*Chipmunks in Low Places is their best-selling album
*"The Chipmunk Song" became the fastest-selling single of all time in early 1959. It held that record until 1964, when The Beatles claimed it. This led to the group's Beatles cover album.


Mini-Biography
The Chipmunks are a fictional musical group, created by Ross Bagdasarian in 1958. The group consists of three singing chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group, Simon, the tall bespectacled intellectual, and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable sweetheart. The trio is "managed" by their human "father" and confidant, David "Dave" Seville. In reality, David Seville was Ross Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label, Liberty Records: Alvin Bennett (the president), Simon Waronker (the founder and owner), and Theodore Keep (the chief engineer).

Audiences often assume the characters started as cartoons and branched out into music, but that is the opposite of how they began. After first being brought to life in Bagdasarian's 1950s novelty recordings under the name David Seville and the Chipmunks, the characters were an unprecedented success, and the singing Chipmunks and their manager were given life in several animated cartoon series and motion pictures.

The voices of the group were all performed by Bagdasarian, who sped up the playback to create the higher pitched squeaky voices. This process was not entirely new; Bagdasarian had also used it for a previous novelty song project "The Witch Doctor", but it was so unusual and well executed it earned the "trio" two Grammy Awards for engineering. Although the characters were fictional, they did release a long line of "real" albums and singles, with "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" becoming a number-one hit single in the United States. After his death in 1972, the voices of the Chipmunks were subsequently recorded by his son, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., and his wife, Janice Karman, in all subsequent incarnations to date.

(Biography from Wikipedia.org)

Official Website: http://www.chipmunks.com

<hr>
Past Artist Discussions:
1. Aerosmith
2. Elvis Presley
3. Michael Jackson
4. The Beatles
5. Mariah Carey
6. Pink Floyd
7. Madonna
8. Frank Sinatra
9. Amy Grant
10. The Rolling Stones
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-Aaron

[MickeyMousePal]

I was also thinking last night about The Chipmunks should get a DVD set release. It already have been years that The Chipmunks were not in syndicated (Fox), NBC or Cartoon Network. I have some episodes on VHS from the time they were aired back in the 80's. My VHS are getting all old and dust and probably won't work anymore. I still remember that The Chipmunks played some type of popular music in their show like Ghostbusters or Material Girls.

Paramount bring The Chipmunks on DVD in season sets not volumes!!!

[AwallaceUNC]

This thread is kind of just for some Christmastime fun, but as their profile above demonstrates, they are clearly qualified for inclusion in this series.

I grew up on the Chipmunks and have always been a fan. The only album I have is the Christmas one (on both cassette and two-volume CD), though I should probably add more. Their Christmas music is a staple of my holiday celebrations.

Like Pals, I'd like to see box set releases for at least "Alvin & the Chipmunks". I remember watching it, though not much about it. I do, however, remember going to see the Chipmunks "live" in a country-type show.

-Aaron

[Disney Lover]

I grew up with this show as well. I absolutely loved it. I would love for this show and its predicessor THe Alvin Show to come to dvd some day. I would definitly buy it.

As for THe CHristmas Song....wouldn't be CHristmas without hearing this sonmg at least 10 times. One of the classics.

[dvdjunkie]

Ross Bagdasarian was a neighbor when I lived in Los Angeles, and I grew up knowing this gentleman. His unique recording style allowed him some truly fun times in the studio, and I can remember all the years of him trying to get the Chipmunk sounds just right. When the "Witch Doctor" single hit so big and so quickly, Ross was in the middle of getting the Chipmunks together, and it wasn't too many months after "Witch Doctor" that Alvin, Simon and Theodore were born.

"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is probably the best known of the Chipmunk recordings around the world. Ross followed up this monster single with "Alvin's Harmonica", and several lesser known records.

After his tragic death in 1972, Ross Jr. took over and I can remember one of the first things I heard him do was "E.T. Phone Home". It wasn't too well received, but at least Ross Jr. knew there was still a market out there for the Chipmunks.

The last major hit they had was the album "Chipmunks in Low Places" which had their versions of several of country's biggest hits with guest appearances by some very big stars.

I will always remember my years growing up with the Chipmunks and the freindship I had with Ross Bagdasarian and his family.

[PixarFan2006]

I liked the Chipmunks when I was younger. The Chipmunk Song is a classic novelty song. I found a strange clip somewhere where they exposed what the song sounds like slowed down.

[James]

I'm not saying that this particular band isn't worthy of a thread, I'm just saying that it's sad when a fictional band that can't sing very well can get awards, acclaim and can be popular, when an artist like Britney Spears get rejected at every chance by critics, even though she's released over 20 tracks, and each has been in the Top 5 at some point or another. And each of her four albums have debuted at Number 1 upon their release.
Sorry, I just had to work my love for her into this thread. It's a habit. For the next music thread Aaron, can you PLEASE do Britney Spears? Or Kylie Minogue? Dannii Minogue? Spice Girls? Or even maybe a Disney affiliate like Hilary, or Lindsay, or Raven? Maybe someone more successful like Christina? Or maybe Justin? Regardless, I always love reading these threads. They're really informative, and give me more knowledge about music. These should be promoted on the front page, they're really fantastic pieces of work Aaron. Keep it up.
-James

[Mr. Toad]

Well James might not be willing to say it but I will, this band is not worthy of a thread. In fact, it isnt actually a band. And it is a stretch to call it music as well.

This series has hit a new low(wasnt sure that was possible after Mariah Carey was covered)

[James]

Yeah, I didn't want to say it, since hard work has been put into it and there are a few fans here, but yeah this band is pretty shit. And as Mr Toad pointed out it isn't a band. They're unsuccessful (to a point) cartoon characters with annoyingly nasal voices that todays society has forgotten and quite frankly has wanted to. I don't remember them from anything, except from a bit in The Santa Clause, and I have caught a few smidgened of their stuff, but I wouldn't have wanted to hear much more.
Sorry about saying that Aaron, but I really don't like this group. I know that you were trying to be festive, and you still have those brownie points for that, but maybe you should've done Bing Crosby or someone else like that.
-James

[dvdjunkie]

Britney Spears is a low-life mattress-back and her 15-minutes of fame has come and gone. Anyone who thinks she is a role model has some serious issues with self-esteem. Her hard partying and low-life people she hangs around with don't bode well with me. She has two children that she should be taking care of and not leaving in the care of a nanny. If she didn't want the burden of becoming a mother she should have thought about that years ago before her first one was conceived.

Britney Spears a star????? I think not!!!!

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Well, I'm not sure I'd go as far as calling The Chipmunks worse than Mariah Carey or Madonna or others not yet discussed, but I have to agree, having a fictional band get their thread before so many of my favorites, I'm a little annoyed. No offense Aaron, I'm sure you're just doing it in a random order, but, the Chipmunks?

I definitely agree with James, since it's Christmas season, why not discuss the king of Christmas music himself; Bing Crosby?

[my chicken is infected]

I have the original Chipmunks Christmas albums on CD. I downloaded them from a torrent many years ago, and I nearly cried the first time I heard The Chipmunk Song, because it had been SO long since I'd last heard it. I grew up on a tape my mom's friend gave me many many years ago, and somehow, I lost my beloved tape.

[James]

Britney Spears is a low-life mattress-back and her 15-minutes of fame has come and gone. Anyone who thinks she is a role model has some serious issues with self-esteem. Her hard partying and low-life people she hangs around with don't bode well with me. She has two children that she should be taking care of and not leaving in the care of a nanny. If she didn't want the burden of becoming a mother she should have thought about that years ago before her first one was conceived.

Britney Spears a star????? I think not!!!!

I don't think that her fifteen minutes have come and gone- I think that she's going to be around for a long, long time. She has a massive fan base, and if she keeps creating music like she has, which is good quality pop, then she'll stick around. Just because she's been partying of late, doesn't mean that she hasn't been taking good care of her children.I'm sure that the nights she isn't partying or going out, she's at home with her kids. And I never said that she's a role model, I just think that she is a nice enough person, who makes good quality music, and has created a good career. She's young, and will mature with time. Or she might end up like Madonna and become an artist who bases her career on publicity stunts. Whichever way, I'm still going to be a huge fan of Britney forever. And yes, she is a star, whatever you say. Just because she isn't Lauren Bacall, or Jane Fonda, or Meryl Streep, doesn't mean she isn't a star.
-James

[AwallaceUNC]

This thread is kind of just for some Christmastime fun

Chill out. As I said before, this was just for fun. These threads aren't arranged in order of greatness or stature and they aren't limited to a certain number so no one's spot is being taken. There are thousands of artists to be discussed. As I've said before, the only guidelines are that the artist should generally be someone with whom there is a good chance that most people here are familiar with, who has had a great deal of success and/or a significant impact on music, and who has a large amount of music to consider. Does Elvis qualify? Yes. Does Britney Spears? In terms of familiarity and success, yes -- in terms of a lot of music to discuss, well maybe, that's up for debate. She'll probably get a thread of her own down the line, though I fear it will only be filled with catty remarks when it comes. Does Raven-Symoné? No.

I don't plan these threads out more than a couple at a time. The minute one is posted, another is begun, and I work on them over the course of a week or two. There are many, many artists worth discussing and a lot of you have sent me requests. If your favorite artist hasn't been discussed yet, there's a good chance they're right around the corner. If the response to every single thread is going to be "but why wasn't it <i>this</i> person instead?", we're never going to get anywhere. There will always be someone else it could be. My hope was that everyone could discuss a given artist each week or so based on the info presented in the thread and their own experiences with their music. I do try to switch things up from genre to genre each time so we don't get five pop divas in a row. The next artist is a country musician, which is a genre we haven't directly tackled yet (Elvis and Amy Grant are to some extent, but that's not their main claim to fame). After that it will probably be someone in pop or rock.

If you dislike The Chipmunks, that's fine. This is a discussion thread so by all means, discuss what you don't like. But I wish that the comments would be a little more meaningful or grounded than some of those that have been made so far. There's a more tactful way to critique someone than calling it "shit" and saying that this series "has hit a new low" doesn't comment on the subject so much as it does the thread itself and doesn't add anything aside from mean-spiritedness. It's also a little rude when dvdjunkie has said that he is a close, personal friend of the Bagdasarian family (which, by the way, Bill, is really cool). Calling The Chipmunks unsuccessful, even to a point, isn't even accurate and suggests to me that the thread wasn't even read before being criticized. If you want to talk success... they've had more Grammys than Aerosmith, Elvis, Mariah Carey, Pink Floyd, Amy Grant, andThe Rolling Stones,and the same number as Madonna, and more #1 singles than Aerosmith or Pink Floyd. They've held several music world records, including the fastest-selling single that went unbroken until The Beatles. They're one of the oldest acts in this series and have at least as many albums as anyone else. Sure, they aren't charting today... but neither is anyone else we have discussed except Mariah Carey and to some extent Madonna. I'm not interested in documenting the short career of "here and now" successes, which is why you haven't seen a Fergie thread and won't anytime soon.

I realize we're talking about a fictional group here and so all the success talk is to be taken with a grain of salt. There's still something to be said for it, though, and the claim that The Chipmunks have been unsuccessful is just without basis.

Could I have done someone else for Christmas? Yes. Bing Crosby would have been a good one, although if anyone has been dubbed the king of Christmas, it's been Nat King Cole (or some would say Johnny Mathis), not Bing Crosby. Yes, Crosby is entirely qualified for his own thread and he'll get one down the road. The thing is we can discuss him anytime. I feel like The Chipmunks can really only be done around the holidays because Christmas music is their real claim to fame.

Again, I just wanted to do a fun thread for Christmas. I'm sorry that it has resulted in a lot of un-fun. I think a lot of people like The Chipmunks in the way that they like It's A Small World -- it's fun in small doses. I thought that would make for a good festive thread. Now I regret even typing all this out because it just adds on to the unraveling of this, which was intended to be light-hearted. I love music -- all kinds -- and I love making these threads. I like reading everyone's responses and opinions. I just wish they could be a little kinder, more thoughtful, and more substantive than a few I have seen. Thanks to those who have actually made an effort and who have been enjoying these threads and making them a rewarding experience. I must say that I am sadly disappointed in some of the responses to this one.

-Aaron

[my chicken is infected]

I, for one, approve of this thread. Not all music has to be serious. The Chipmunks are light-hearted fun for young and old. Lest we forget, Christmas With The Chipmunks Vol. 1 and 2 are among the best-loved Christmas recordings of all time. Every year, I upload those two CDs to share with people, and every place I share them at, I get anywhere from 5 to 25 comments PER forum/community that day, depending on the forums/communities I share them at, thanking me so much for giving them back a part of their childhood they'd lost. Like I said, when I found that torrent and listened to it for the first time LITERALLY in decades, I nearly cried. I don't cry over music and movies a lot, but I almost cried listening to this. I had a happy piece from a childhood full of unhappiness pretty much handed back to me - all it cost me was an hour or two of downloading time. A small price to pay for nostalgia.

[James]

Oh, now it's making me sad that Aaron is disappointed with the remarks said. Sorry about that, I think that I, likely as not instigated them. Sorry, back on topic.
Coincidentally this band, Alvin and the Chipmunks, are going to be heard on tonights Australian free-to-air viewing of The Santa Clause.
Sorry, that's all I've got. I'm so lame. Yeah, and sorry again for tainting this thread with my pro-Britney comments. I know that they're unrelated so I'll keep them for the eventual Britney thread. I'm guessing that the country music thread will be either Faith Hill, Tim McGraw or possibly Johnny Cash.
-James

[Luke]

I hope all heed Aaron's words on the subject. Clearly, a series like this takes time and effort to research and coordinate. Truth be told, you could take the first post in each of these threads and turn them into a unique website which would offer something not found as succinctly anywhere else - a wealth of achievements and background information on musical acts in a reader-friendly format. How many posts on this or any forum can make that claim?

The threads are clearly one massive spark for substantial discussion. Like he's said, questions about the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of artists selected are futile. Share your thoughts on the artist and leave the negativity and unrelated bickering out of these threads. While any kind of worthwhile communication is welcome here at UD, there's got to be a better thread. When it's brought in here, the phrase "pearls before swine" comes to mind and that's the last thing that Aaron or anyone else who puts time and effort into something wants to be the fruits of those labors.

[Luke]

Now, to add something positive to this thread -- which I would have done in the post above, only the forum doesn't like long posts at this time of the night, there is a break to the tone of the posts, and my laptop is prone to overheating...

My experience with the Chipmunks isn't overwhelming. The Chipmunk Christmas has long been one of my most-watched VHS tapes. (I should upgrade to DVD, but even if that happens, that tape has history and I don't think I can let it go.) I remember the '80s cartoon that used to rerun on Nick through the '90s. I got a kick out of the gang's take on popular songs of the time and I recall the series being fun.

As for music, naturally, I'm familiar with "The Chipmunk Song" and I enjoy it. Also like "Witch Doctor." I wish Disney's video and music branches still had connections with the gang. I'd be glad to cover some of their stuff for this site.

[AwallaceUNC]

Thanks for the supportive posts, my chicken is infected, James, and Luke.

I'm guessing that the country music thread will be either Faith Hill, Tim McGraw or possibly Johnny Cash.
-James

None of the above, though it was almost Johnny Cash. It is a male, but someone who has sold more than any of the above. There's your hint.

And to get back on topic, here is a lovely live performance of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by Michael McDonald, Chet Atkins, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmvygeupwo

-Aaron

[James]

None of the above, though it was almost Johnny Cash. It is a male, but someone who has sold more than any of the above. There's your hint.

Damn, I thought that one of them would be it! I can't for the life of me think of another truly famous male country star that could quality for this thread. Is it Willie Nelson? Oh, I don't know! I'll just wait til you post it.
You're welcome for the feedback. I mean you put so much effort into this, that we have to comment on it. I mean, I don't think many other forums do as much as this forum does, like the artist threads, secret santas, competitions, and reviewing, so congratulations should be made. And as Luke said, you could definitely create a large and successful website purely on the beginning info of each of these threads. As I've said, it's great work, and I hope that I'm able to keep reading these until I'm old. Truth be told, you may well have covered all of the worthy singers by then, but I can dream. And on the YouTube video, I'd watch it, but our computer isn't on broadband, and it takes a long time to load videos from YouTube.com, meaning that it would take ages to load a video of something I'm not really into. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it, because I'd like to hear some Chipmunks songs not from the actual Chipmunks, but it would just take way too long. Sorry!
-James