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The Alvin Show is the first American animated television series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier.
It lasted for just one season in prime time (October 4, 1961 – September 12, 1962). The series rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to (and usually exasperated) his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, Dave Seville. -
Wikipedia Alvin and the Chipmunks is a five-time Grammy Award-winning animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated 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 Seville. In reality, David Seville was 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).
The Chipmunks act began with recordings first brought to life in Bagdasarian's 1950s novelty recordings under the name David Seville and the Chipmunks. For stage purposes, such as during an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Bagdasarian lip-synched the words of "David Seville" in front of a small puppet theater, with puppets of the three Chipmunks also lip-synching. The puppets looked similar to the Chipmunk illustrations on the covers of some of the group's 45 RPM records.
The Chipmunks first officially appeared on the scene in a novelty record released in late fall 1958 by Bagdasarian. The song, originally listed on the record label (Liberty F-55168) as "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," featured the singing skills of the chipmunk trio. One phrase in the chorus has Alvin wishing for a Hula Hoop, which was that year's hot new toy. The novelty record was highly successful, selling more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of its chipmunk stars. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 27, 1959 to January 19, 1960. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year. At the height of its popularity, Bagdasarian and three chipmunk hand-puppets appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, lip-synching the song. -
Wikipedia "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is a song written by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (a.k.a. David Seville) in 1958. Although it was written and sung by Bagdasarian (in the form of a chipmunk voice), the singing credits are given to The Chipmunks, a fictional singing group consisting of three chipmunks by the names of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
[edit] Chart performance
The song was very successful, reaching #1 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart (later known as the Billboard Hot 100), becoming The Chipmunks' first (and only), as well David Seville's second and final, #1 single. It also has the distinction of being the only Christmas record to reach #1 on the same chart. The single sold 4.5 million copies, according to Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Ironically, before the song's success, "The Chipmunk Song" was featured on American Bandstand's "Rate-A-Record" segment and received the lowest possible rating of 35.
Between 1959-1962, the single managed to re-enter the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, peaking at #41, #45, and #39 in 1959, 1960, and 1962 respectively. (Starting in 1963, Billboard would list re-current Christmas songs on a separate chart.) The song managed to chart on the Hot Digital Songs for a first time in 2005, peaking at #35 on that chart.
In December 2007, because of the popularity of the 2007 release of Alvin and the Chipmunks and due to the fact the holidays were starting up at the time, "The Chipmunk Song" managed to re-enter the Billboard Hot 100 at #70. However, the re-entry is more likely credited to the remixed versions of the song that appears on the Chipmunks' 2007 album (and soundtrack to their film) Alvin and the Chipmunks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The charts even credit the song as "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) (2007 Version)". This version peaked at #66. -
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Before the Chipmunks, DIsney's
Chip n Dale appeared in cartoons.
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Chip and Dale first appeared in the Disney cartoon Private Pluto in 1943, more than a decade before the creation of the Chipmunks--however, the cartoon series Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers, the first appearance of them with different personalities and first appearance of them wearing clothes was created in 1989, well after the debut of Alvin and the Chipmunks in the fifties. Other than anthropomorphic chipmunks as main characters, the two franchises have little in common, other than the fact that Chip and Dale have squeaky voices created by the speeding up of records to 45 (or sometimes, but very rarely, 78) RPM. -
Wikipedia (What else?) Pinky and Perky was a children's television series first seen on the BBC in 1957. The title characters were a pair of puppet anthropomorphic pigs with very limited movements created by Czechoslovakian immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. The puppets looked alike but Pinky wore red clothes and Perky blue, which was not much use on black and white TV so Perky often put a hat on. Pinky and Perky spoke and sang in high-pitched voices using recordings that were played at a higher speed than they were recorded at and would often sing cover versions of popular songs. Their theme song was "We Belong Together" and they had their own TV station "PPC TV". -
Once Again, Wikipedia The Chipmunks, on their TV show, were animated. Pinky & Perky were puppets. Other than the speeded-up voices, the two (5?) had little in common. SInce speeded-up voices had been in use since at least
The Wizard of Oz, it's hard to see that the Chipmunks were in any way a copy of Pinky & Perky.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. ~ Hamlet: Act 1, scene 5
