The song was very successful, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, becoming The Chipmunks' first (and only), as well as David Seville's second and final, No. 1 single. It had the distinction of being the only Christmas record to reach No. 1 on the same chart until Mariah Carey’s "All I Want for Christmas Is You" did so 61 years later in 2019. The single sold 4.5 million copies in seven weeks, according to Ross Bagdasarian Jr.[3] It eventually sold 12 million copies.[4] 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 across the board.[5]
Between 1958 and 1962, the single re-entered the Hot 100 several times, peaking at No. 41 in 1958, No. 45 in 1960, and No. 39 in 1962. (Starting in 1963, Billboard would list recurrent Christmas songs on a separate chart.) The song charted on the Hot Digital Songs for the first time in 2005, peaking at No. 35.
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 No. 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 No. 66 and was credited as "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) (2007 Version)".
The song was adapted into a musical segment in 1961 for The Alvin Show. The segment depicts Alvin sifting 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. This segment was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in March 2015 as part of a three-episode set of The Alvin Show.[10]
The song was resurrected for the 1981 NBC Christmas television specialA 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. Though 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 later featured in an episode of the NBCSaturday morning seriesAlvin and the Chipmunks (1983–1990), 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 were an eraser, a pencil and a piece of paper).
The song was prominently featured in the 2007 computer animated film Alvin and the Chipmunks. A scene similar to that of the original segment on The Alvin Show appears with Jason Lee portraying Dave Seville. The film also features the original track by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., a remake with Ross Jr as Dave, and a new rock mix with Lee as Dave, both of which appear on the film's soundtrack. The original track is played briefly during a flashback in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.
The Chipmunks performed a smooth jazz version of the song with Kenny G on the saxophone for their 1994 album A Very Merry Chipmunk. They also performed a duet version with Jaci Velasquez for her 2001 album Christmas in which Alvin tries to flirt with Jaci in Spanish and changes the lyric "I want a hula hoop" to "I want a date with you."
On a Christmas episode of The King of Queens, the character Doug Heffernan says it's his favorite Christmas song, but his father-in-law Arthur Spooner despises it, chastising Alvin for his delays in the song, saying it "throws the other chipmunks off". However, Arthur soon takes a great liking to the song and continually plays it throughout the episode, much to Doug and his wife Carrie's annoyance.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late is a novelty Christmas song written by Ross Bagdasarian under the stage name of David Seville in 1958 Bagdasarian sang and recorded the song varying the tape speeds to produce high pitched chipmunk voices with the vocals credited to Alvin and the Chipmunks Seville s cartoon virtual band The song won three Grammy Awards in 1958 for Best Comedy Performance Best Children s Recording and Best Engineered Record non classical 1 it was also nominated for Record of the Year 2 The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Picture sleeve of 1958 single by Liberty Records F 55250 Single by Alvin and the Chipmunks and David Sevillefrom the album Let s All Sing with The ChipmunksB side Almost Good Alvin s Harmonica reissues ReleasedDecember 1 1958RecordedOctober 31 1958GenreChristmaspopnoveltyLength2 21LabelLiberty F 55168Liberty F 55250Songwriter s Ross BagdasarianProducer s Ross BagdasarianAlvin and the Chipmunks and David Seville singles chronology The Bird on My Head 1958 The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late 1958 Alvin s Harmonica 1959 Alternate cover1961 reissue utilizing animated makeovers for The Alvin Show Contents 1 Commercial performance 2 Track listing 2 1 Original 1958 release 2 2 1959 reissue 2 3 1961 reissue 3 Adaptation in other media 4 See also 5 ReferencesCommercial performance EditThe song was very successful reaching No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart becoming The Chipmunks first and only as well as David Seville s second and final No 1 single It had the distinction of being the only Christmas record to reach No 1 on the same chart until Mariah Carey s All I Want for Christmas Is You did so 61 years later in 2019 The single sold 4 5 million copies in seven weeks according to Ross Bagdasarian Jr 3 It eventually sold 12 million copies 4 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 across the board 5 Between 1958 and 1962 the single re entered the Hot 100 several times peaking at No 41 in 1958 No 45 in 1960 and No 39 in 1962 Starting in 1963 Billboard would list recurrent Christmas songs on a separate chart The song charted on the Hot Digital Songs for the first time in 2005 peaking at No 35 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 No 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 No 66 and was credited as The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late 2007 Version As of December 25 2011 Nielsen SoundScan estimated total sales of two versions of the digital track by The Chipmunks at 867 000 downloads placing it third on the list of all time best selling Christmas holiday digital singles in SoundScan history behind Mariah Carey s 1994 hit single All I Want for Christmas Is You and Trans Siberian Orchestra s 1996 track Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12 24 6 Track listing EditOriginal 1958 release Edit No TitleCredited artistLength1 The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Ross Bagdasarian Sr David Seville and The Chipmunks2 17 7 2 Almost Good Ross Bagdasarian Sr Mark McIntyre The Music of David Seville2 02 7 1959 reissue Edit All tracks are written by Ross Bagdasarian Sr No TitleCredited artistLength1 The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late David Seville and The Chipmunks2 17 8 2 Alvin s Harmonica David Seville and The Chipmunks2 39 8 1961 reissue Edit All tracks are written by Ross Bagdasarian Sr No TitleCredited artistLength1 The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Alvin Simon and Theodore with David Seville2 17 9 2 Alvin s Harmonica Alvin Simon and Theodore with David Seville2 39 9 Adaptation in other media EditThe song was adapted into a musical segment in 1961 for The Alvin Show The segment depicts Alvin sifting 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 This segment was released on DVD and Blu Ray in March 2015 as part of a three episode set of The Alvin Show 10 The song was resurrected for the 1981 NBC Christmas television special 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 Though 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 later featured in an episode of the NBC Saturday morning series Alvin and the Chipmunks 1983 1990 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 were an eraser a pencil and a piece of paper The song was prominently featured in the 2007 computer animated film Alvin and the Chipmunks A scene similar to that of the original segment on The Alvin Show appears with Jason Lee portraying Dave Seville The film also features the original track by Ross Bagdasarian Sr a remake with Ross Jr as Dave and a new rock mix with Lee as Dave both of which appear on the film s soundtrack The original track is played briefly during a flashback in Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip The original recording has been used in the feature films Rocky IV 1985 Look Who s Talking Now 1993 Donnie Brasco 1997 Almost Famous 2000 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 2016 and The Fate of the Furious 2017 The Chipmunks performed a smooth jazz version of the song with Kenny G on the saxophone for their 1994 album A Very Merry Chipmunk They also performed a duet version with Jaci Velasquez for her 2001 album Christmas in which Alvin tries to flirt with Jaci in Spanish and changes the lyric I want a hula hoop to I want a date with you On a Christmas episode of The King of Queens the character Doug Heffernan says it s his favorite Christmas song but his father in law Arthur Spooner despises it chastising Alvin for his delays in the song saying it throws the other chipmunks off However Arthur soon takes a great liking to the song and continually plays it throughout the episode much to Doug and his wife Carrie s annoyance Justin Timberlake as Dave along with Andy Samberg as Simon Fred Armisen as Theodore and Bill Hader as Alvin covered the song during the monologue section for the Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live s 32nd season In the 2009 film Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs the song is briefly sung by Crash and Eddie in a high pitch voice of both helium and gas Norah Jones recorded a cover of the song for her 2021 Christmas album I Dream of Christmas It is sung by the cast in the season 3 episode of Mythic Quest The 12 Hours of Christmas See also EditList of Hot 100 number one singles of 1958 U S References Edit O Neil Tom 4 May 2009 Today in 1959 First Grammy Awards handed out Los Angeles Times Retrieved 29 Nov 2009 1958 Grammy Winners Recording Academy Retrieved May 20 2023 http www chipmunks com History section Tyler Don 2008 Music of the postwar era Greenwood Press p 99 100 ISBN 9780313341915 Clark Dick Robinson Richard 1976 Rock Roll and Remember New York Thomas Y Crowell Company Grein Paul 2011 12 28 Week Ending Dec 25 2011 Songs Bringing Sexy Back Yahoo Music Nielsen Business Media Retrieved 2011 12 29 a b The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Almost Good at discogs com a b The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Alvin s Harmonica 1959 at discogs com a b The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don t Be Late Alvin s Harmonica 1961 at discogs com The Alvin Show DVD Blu Ray release Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Chipmunk Song Christmas Don 27t Be Late amp oldid 1155982124, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
