The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

Year: 1958

Written By: Ross Bagtasarian Sr

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I think everyone loves the Chipmunks, from the simple cartoon they started out as to the blockbuster movies that they now star in the Chipmunks have long been a favorite with children and adults alike. Out of their many loved songs The Chipmunk Song (Christmas don't be late) stands out to everyone. With the devious but lovable Alvin in the lead the song has taken the holiday season by storm.

The Chipmunk Song (Christmas don't be late) was written in 1958 by Ross Bagtasarian Sr. aka David Seville. David Seville as we all know plays the "father" and manager of the Chipmunks on the shows and the blockbuster movies. The song was originally sung by Bagtasarian but credited to the nonexistent Chipmunk band. The Chipmunks are three tiny rodents, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore who America loves and laughs at on The Alvin show and the movies that have recently been released. Bagtasarian sung the song in a high-pitched chipmunk voice and the Chipmunks were born.

The Chipmunk Song gained popularity easily collecting three Grammys for Best Comedy performance, children's recording and best-engineered record all in 1958. The Chipmunk song also reached number 1 on the billboard hot 100 pop singles chart making it the last Christmas song to reach number 1 on any US single record chart. It was also The Chipmunks first and only number one and David Seville's second and last number one. The single sold over 4.5 million copies. Ironically, when the song was featured on American Bandstand it got the overall lowest rating of 35 across the board. Even with that, low rating The Chipmunk song is still one of the most loved Christmas songs today.

In December 2007, The Chipmunk Song was featured on the feature length movie Alvin and The Chipmunks making the song popular once again and landing it at number 70 on the billboard hot 100. The Chipmunk Song has been featured on The Alvin Show where poor Alvin is steady looking for the hula-hoop he so desperately wants for Christmas and also in A Chipmunk Christmas. In the film, Alvin and the Chipmunks Jason Lee added his voice to David Seville's to do a rock remix of the song.

The Chipmunks seem to be the only artist who can sing The Chipmunk Song (Christmas don't be late) but a couple have at least tried. Disney released an album entitled Disney's favorite Christmas carols and Chip and Dale sang the Chipmunk Song with Donald Duck in the background. The only other star to attempt the song was Rosie Thomas in 2008.