"The Chipmunk Song
(Christmas Don't Be Late)" is a song written by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.
(a.k.a. David Seville) in 1958. Although it was written and sung by
Bagdasarian (in the form of a chipmunk voice), the singing credits are
given to The Chipmunks, a fictional singing group consisting of three
chipmunks by the names of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
Listen to the song. Video clip of classic Alvin show.
Chart performance
The song was very successful, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop
Singles chart, becoming The Chipmunks' first (and only), as well as
David Seville's second and final, #1 single. It has the distinction of
being the only Christmas record to reach #1 on the same chart. The
single sold 4.5 million copies, according to Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
Ironically, before the song's success, "The Chipmunk Song" was featured
on American Bandstand's "Rate-A-Record" segment and received the lowest
possible rating of 35.
Between 1959–1962, the single managed to re-enter the Hot 100, peaking
at #41 in 1959, #45 in 1960, and #39 in 1962. (Starting in 1963,
Billboard would list re-current Christmas songs on a separate chart.)
The song managed to chart on the Hot Digital Songs for the first time
in 2005, peaking at #35 on that chart.
"The Chipmunk Song" is the last Christmas song to make #1 on any US
single record chart totaling performance of all available records, a
record that may never be equaled.
With the release and popularity of the film Alvin and the Chipmunks in
December 2007, "The Chipmunk Song" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at
#70. At the same time, a remixed version of the song that appears on
the Chipmunks' 2007 album (and soundtrack to the film) Alvin and the
Chipmunks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, peaked at #66 and was
credited as "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) (2007
Version)".
Album Description:
20 classic Christmas tracks from the 5 time Grammy Award-winning
children's franchise, The Chipmunks. Includes such favorites as
"Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty The Snow Man", "Jingle
Bells", and the original version of the classic hit "The Chipmunk Song
(Christmas Don't Be Late)."
Buy the CD Now!
Adaptation in other media
The song has been adapted in The Alvin Show as one of its musical
segments. The short depicts Alvin looking through various presents to
find a hula hoop, even as he reluctantly sings along with the other
Chipmunks. At the end of the song, Seville rewards Simon and Theodore
with toy planes and Alvin with his hula hoop. The subsequent argument
about singing the song again ends abruptly with their Christmas tree
falling over, and Seville and the Chipmunks emerge from the mess to
wish the viewers a merry Christmas. One notable thing in this segment
is that Theodore's voice is lower and deeper.
The song was featured in
A Chipmunk Christmas. A depressed Alvin sings
along flatly at first (much like the 1958 original), but then leaves
the studio to give away his harmonica to a sick boy. As Seville starts
to resume recording the song without Alvin, Alvin returns in the nick
of time to sing the song with the others.
The song was featured in the '80s and '90s version of Alvin and the
Chipmunks, in the episode "Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll." In that
version, Alvin is taken by Dave (as the Spirit of Christmas Past) to
his old house, a cabin lodge where he saw Dave and younger versions of
himself, Simon and Theodore. There, it was revealed that Dave wrote the
song (called "The Christmas Song" in this episode), because it was
inspired by the gifts that the young Chipmunks gave him (which was an
eraser, a pencil and a piece of paper).
The song was featured in the film
Alvin and the Chipmunks. There were
multiple versions of the song in that film, the original with Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.'s voice, a new one with Jason Lee's voice as David
Seville, and a rock mix.
Different versions
On the Solid Gold Chipmunks: 30th Anniversary Edition greatest hits
album (1988), this song appears, but with an altered bridge and ending.
Instead of Dave yelling at Alvin for how flat he is in the first verse,
Alvin instead appeals that he has asked for the hula-hoop for years but
has never gotten it. Dave answers by telling him to finish the song,
and they'll discuss it later. After they finish, Dave tells Alvin that
something came in for him. It's the hula-hoop that he's been asking
for, and the song fades out with Alvin now rattling off a long list of
what else he desires for Christmas. The Solid Gold Chipmunks album,
Here's Looking at Me album, and The Chipmunk's 35th Birthday Party
(1993) are currently the only known albums that contains this version.
There was also a version with the chipmunks and CCM singer, Jaci
Velasquez in which Alvin fell in love with Jackie and changed the line
"Hula Hoop" into "Date With You".
On the album, "Disney's Merry Christmas Carols," Chip 'n Dale sing "The
Chipmunk Song" with Donald Duck in the background.
