Chipmunk Song facts

While investigating facts about Chipmunk Song, I found out little known, but curios details like:

The writer/producer of the infamous "Witch Doctor"-song ("Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang") is also the creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks. Both the With Doctor and the Chipmunks voices were created using the same technique.

The style of production and sampling that Kanye West used early in his career has been dubbed "chipmunk soul" because it utilized pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul and R&B songs, along with his own drums and instrumentation.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 10 of the best facts about Chipmunk Song I managed to collect.

1. Alvin and The Chipmunks' were originally created for a novelty song in 1958. Despite the squeaky Chipmunk voices, the song went on to win 3 Grammy awards and spend 4 weeks topping the music charts.

2. A few days after Selena's death Howard Stern said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul ... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth." He then played Selena's songs with gunshots in the background on his show.

3. Between the 1930s and 1980s, gimmick-based "novelty" songs were among the top genres in British and American music, with songs like "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and "The Chipmunk Song" topping the Billboard charts.

4. The Alvin and the Chipmunks song "Christmas Don't Be Late" was originally recorded in 1958 and hit the Billboard Hot 100 that Christmas.

5. In 1980, a Los Angeles DJ played the 12" album version of Blondie's song "Call Me" at double speed on air and jokingly announced that it was The Chipmunks' latest single. So many requests came for the "new" release that it caused the team behind The Chipmunks to rush-record a comeback album.

6. Following the murder of Selena, celebrity Howard Stern mocked Selena, stating that "Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul...Spanish people have the worst taste in music." He then began to play Selena's songs with gunshot noises in the background.

7. The song "Witch Doctor" inspired the creation of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

8. In the wake of successful albums by SNL peers like Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi (as the Blues Brothers), Chevy Chase recorded a 1980 comedy album of song parodies. It includes Chase rapping and doing a chipmunk-voiced rendition of "Let It Be."