April of 2009 is the 51st anniversary of a popular song by the Chipmunks, a fictitious singing group who were created for music listeners to laugh while they enjoyed the music. Let’s learn more about this novelty song, "The Witch Doctor," that hit #1 on the charts in April of 1958.
Inspiration comes from a variety of sources; some people are inspired by passionate pleas, political speeches or historic events. But how can a chipmunk help a person develop a worldwide music dynasty?
Just ask David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian), the brainchild behind the singing novelty group of chipmunks- Alvin, Simon and Theodore. While driving through Yosemite, California, Seville slowed down to allow a chipmunk that was in the road, to carry on his merry little way. But as the chipmunk took his time, ideas flooded Seville’s head, and the fictitious singing group the Chipmunks was born.
In early 1957, Seville cut a novelty ditty called “Witch Doctor,” a song about being unlucky at love. The witch doctor would explain to him specifically what to do to gain the attention of a girl. The silly refrain of “Oo-Ee, Oo-Ah-Ah, Ting-Tang, Walla-Walla, Bing Bang” was launched into the unsuspecting music world and a pop culture phenomenon was born (The "Walla Walla" part of the song was just thrown in as a reference to Ross Bagdasarian's uncle who lived in Walla Walla, Washington). This entire song was performed by Seville in his normal voice and then sped up for the infectious effect.
This fictional group consisted of three singing chipmunks, Alvin, a mischievous, troublemaker and the star of the group (named after Liberty Records president Alvin Bennett), Simon, a tall-intellectual fellow (who was named after Simon Waronker -founder and owner of Liberty Records) and Theodore, the chubby sweetheart of the trio (who was named after chief engineer Theodore Keep).
Recording techniques used to create their unique voices was not a new event. In fact, some of the high and low pitched characters in the legendary movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” were achieved the same way- by speeding up the vocal recordings. Seville actually recorded the vocals and music at different speeds, combining the two perfectly to obtain his trademark sound.
The process was simple- the Chipmunk ‘voices’ were recorded onto an audiotape by voice talent or Seville talking or singing at half the normal speed. This purposely done slowing down could then be played back at double speed making them sound a full octave higher in pitch at normal tempo. A new term also found its way into the American vernacular- the term ‘chipmunked-voiced,’ which means any artificially high-pitched voice. And, as silly as this sounds, the Chipmunks (Seville) actually earned two Grammy Awards for engineering.
These fictional stars soon scored another #1 hit with 1958’s “The Chipmunk Song” and went on to release a long line of children’s albums and singles. Even after Seville’s passing in 1972, his son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. has kept the empire alive, entertaining new generations of children all over the world. Not a bad result considering that the music was actually inspired by one of our fury friends!
Fun Chipmunk Facts:
The "singing rodent" concept has been successfully imitated elsewhere, notably by the Finnish "singing squirrel" Pikku Orava.
The Chipmunks make a guest appearance on the Canned Heat song "The Chipmunk Song" (which is not the same song as the 1958 hit) that appeared on their Christmas single.
Prince has used the technique on several of his songs, as well as Frank Zappa on “We're Only In It For The Money” and on the instrumental album Hot Rats, among others.
In the early 90's rave scene, many breakbeat hardcore productions would utilize the same studio tricks, often taking a cappellas from old soul and house records and speeding them up to fit the faster tempo. Vocals in songs that used this method would typically be referred to as "chipmunk vocals".
Some people may think that Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers are a "cheap imitation" of the Chipmunks. But, this is incorrect, as 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 'n Dale 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.
In the 1980s there was a "group" called The Happy Hamsters, which was an obvious attempt to cash in on the Chipmunks' popularity; it has since lapsed into obscurity.
Still going strong, the Chipmunks' newest album, Undeniable, was released in November 2008.
The Chipmunk's legacy was not without serious issues, in fact, the group's name changed from "The Chipmunks" to "Alvin & The Chipmunks" just like "Diana Ross & The Supremes". Alvin, just like Diana Ross, was the lead singer. The Chipmunks name change sparked rumors of a possible solo career for Alvin. And by 1961, Alvin had his own show called appropriately called "The Alvin Show" and released his first solo album which was also the soundtrack album to the show called "The Alvin Show (album)".
Interestingly, the Chipmunks spoofed John Lennon's 1966 infamous comment that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus", by recalling how the Chipmunks had fallen in popularity after Alvin boasted they were "bigger than Mickey Mouse!"
There is also a price difference regarding whether the Chipmunks on the cover of an album are drawn as animals or as the fictional characters.
