"Known for their high-pitched voices and adorably cute critter faces, Alvin and the Chipmunks have been making music for over 50 years. The original singing group was created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958 and consisted of three animated chipmunks - Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The trio of singing chipmunks was led by their producer and human father, David Seville (Bagdasarian's stage name), while the little rodents were named after the executives of the group's first record label, Liberty. Bagdasarian was born in 1919 in Fresno, Ca and moved to Los Angeles in 1950. He appeared in Hollywood blockbuster hits including Viva Zapata and Rear Window while working as a production member for Alfi and Harry's ""The Trouble with Harry."" After the single hit number 44, he began recording solo work under the name David Seville. Working in the studio, he started playing with the recording machine and found that when he sped up the playback on a tape machine he got an interesting affect. ""Witch Doctor"" became a number one hit, followed by the Christmas single ""The Chipmunk Song,"" which spent several weeks at the top of the charts. As Bagdasarian started to see more hit singles with his group, The Alvin Show premiered on prime-time television in 1961. Though the show only lasted a year, it prompted a lifetime of Chipmunk products.In 1969, the final Chipmunks album appeared, The Chipmunks Go to the Movies, before Bagdasarian died from a heart attack in 1972. The Chipmunks fell off the map for a few years before NBC approached Bagdasarian's son, Ross Jr., regarding a new television show. With Excelsior Records, the Chipmunks recorded a new album and started their television show Alvin and the Chipmunks. When the animated show finished, the Chipmunks still appeared anywhere kids could be found, and in 2007 Tim Hill directed a computer animated film based on the series and musical group."
