Alvin and the Chipmunks

Created by Ross Bagdasarian in 1958, Alvin and the Chipmunks is an almost-fictional musical group consisting of three singing chipmunks; (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore), and they are typically managed by their human "dad" and leader, David "Dave" Seville. The chipmunks were first brought to life in novelty recordings of the 1950s by Ross (using his stage name of David "Dave" Seville) under the name David Seville and the Chipmunks. After incredible (and unexpected) initial success, the singing chipmunks and their manager were given life in several cartoon series and movies. It is notable that the characters are now perceived as a cartoon that also released some accompanying music, while the chronology was quite the opposite.

The fictional voices of the group were all recorded by Ross Bagdasarian and sped up to create the distinctive higher pitched voices. (This process wasn't entirely new, Ross 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 "real" albums. 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 future incarnations to date.

The chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their record label, Liberty Records: Alvin Bennett, the president; Theodore Keep, chief engineer; and Simon Waronker, founder and owner.

History

"The Chipmunk Song"

Alvin and the Chipmunks first appeared on the scene in a novelty record released in 1958 by Ross Bagdasarian. The song (known either as just "The Chipmunk Song" or "Christmas Don't Be Late", featuring the singing skills of the chipmunk trio. The novelty record was very successful, selling more than 4 million copies in 7 weeks, and it launched the careers of its several chipmunk stars. It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 27, 1958 to January 19, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

The Alvin Show

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The Chipettes

The first television series which features the characters was the black & white cartoon The Alvin Show. Running from 1961 to 1962, it was one of a small number of cartoons to be shown in prime time, on CBS. Unfortunately, it was not immediately successful and was cancelled after one season, only to find new life in syndication. (At some point, the show was colorized for television.)

In addition to Alvin cartoons, the series also featured Clyde Crashcup and his sidekick Leonardo. Those characters sadly did not feature prominently in any of the later series. (A single cameo appearance was made in an episode of "Alvin and the Chipmunks".)

Chipmunk Punk

After the death of Ross Bagdasarian in 1972, the Chipmunks' careers stalled until NBC showed interest in the original show and released a new album of modern (for 1980) Chipmunk songs. The new album featured the late Ross's son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., doing the voices of the characters. That album and the continued reruns of the series proved to be popular enough to warrant a new series. (However, it did not reach the level of critical success as the previous work.)

Alvin and the Chipmunks

In 1983 the second cartoon series was released. Titled simply Alvin and the Chipmunks, the outline of the show closely paralleled the original Alvin show. The show lasted six production seasons, until 1991. In the third season, the show introduced the The Chipettes, three female versions of the Chipmunks with their own human counterpart. Many fans consider this the moment when the show jumped the shark. (After this point, the show was renamed just The Chipmunks to indicate that there were now multiple groups of them.)

In 1987, during the fifth season of the show on television, the Chipmunks had their first (and thus far, only) animated feature film: The Chipmunk Adventure, directed by Janice Karman. The film featured the Chipmunks and the Chipettes in a contest traveling around the world. Other than improved production values, the movie was more of an extended and enhanced episode of the series.

For the sixth and final season, the show switched production companies (to DiC Entertainment) and switched titles again: Chipmunks go to the Movies. Each episode in this season was a spoof of a Hollywood film, such as Back to the Future, Dick Tracy, and others. In additional, several television specials featuring the characters were also released. At the conclusion of the sixth season, the show was cancelled again.

In 1990, a documentary was produced about the show entitled Alvin and the Chipmunks/Five Decades with the Chipmunks. In that year, the chipmunks also teamed up with other contemporary cartoons (such as Bugs Bunny, Garfield, etc.) for the drug abuse-prevention special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

Direct-to-Video Alvin

In 1999, Alvin reappeared again in the direct-to-video movie Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein. The movie was successful enough to spark interest in a sequel, and in 2000, Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet the Wolf Man appeared. Both movies featured the "original" cast of the second series reprising their roles and the tone of the movies are very similar to the series. These film titles reflect earlier horror spoofs by Abbott and Costello.

Alvin's Future

In 2000, Bagdasarian Productions sued Universal Pictures for breach of contract for both monentary damages and to regain control of the Alvin and the Chipmunks characters. If that lawsuit is not successful, the contract will expire in 2006.

Awards and Nominations

1959, won three Grammy Awards for Best Album for Children, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical for the song "The Chipmunk Song". (Was also nominated for Record of the Year, but did not win.)
1960, won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical for the song "Alvin's Harmonica".
1961, won a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for the album Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks. (It was also nominated for Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical.) The song "Alvin for President" was also nominated for both Best Comedy Performance - Musical and Best Engineered Record - Novelty, making two nominations in the latter category.)
1962, was nominated again for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Record - Novelty for the television tie-in album, The Alvin Show.
1963, was nominated again for Grammy Awards for both Best Album for Children and Best Engineered Record - Novelty for the album The Chipmunk Songbook.
1966, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for the song Supercalifragelistic Expialidocious.
1985, was nominated for a Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Animated Program (Daytime)".
1987, the second television series was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category "Exceptional Family Animation Series or Specials".
1987, was nominated for a Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Animated Program (Daytime)".
1988, was nominated for a Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Animated Program (Daytime)".
1988, was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category "Best Motion Picture - Animation" for the movie The Chipmunk Adventure.
2000, won the Golden Reel Award in the category "Best Sound Editing - Direct to Video - Sound Editorial" for the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein.

In total: five Grammy Awards and a Golden Reel Award.