Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks
Encyclopedia
Let’s All Sing With the Chipmunks is the debut album of Alvin and the Chipmunks
. It is an interactive children's
novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and customized original musical material. It contains the A-sides of Chipmunks' first three singles: "The Chipmunks Sing-Along Song", "Alvin's Harmonica" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". The artist credit on the original release was listed as David Seville and the Chipmunks (changed to "Alvin, Simon and Theodore with David Seville" on the revised 1961 cover). First pressings of the album were on red vinyl. Despite the album's success, it was one of four original Chipmunks albums not included in a 1987-1990 CD reissue program (the others were The Chipmunk Songbook, The Chipmunks See Doctor Dolittle, and The Chipmunks Go To The Movies). (However, every track from the album has been available at one time or another on various compilation CDs.) On April 8, 2008, Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks finally was reissued on compact disc (Capitol 509992 08853 28).
for Best Recording for Children in 1960.
. When the album was reissued two years later, a new cover was substituted, that of an Alvin Show
animation cel
setup reenacting the poses the original chipmunks made, with the exception of Alvin, who was now shown as making a pose like Elvis Presley
. The 2008 compact disc reissue uses the 1961 front cover design along with the original 1959 back cover.
.
Ted Keep
- Engineer
Pate/Francis & Assoc. - cover design and actual artwork - [original pressing]
Studio Five - animation artwork - [reissue pressing]
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
. It is an interactive children's
Children's music
Children's music is used here to refer to music composed and performed for children by adults. In European influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has historically held both entertainment...
novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and customized original musical material. It contains the A-sides of Chipmunks' first three singles: "The Chipmunks Sing-Along Song", "Alvin's Harmonica" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". The artist credit on the original release was listed as David Seville and the Chipmunks (changed to "Alvin, Simon and Theodore with David Seville" on the revised 1961 cover). First pressings of the album were on red vinyl. Despite the album's success, it was one of four original Chipmunks albums not included in a 1987-1990 CD reissue program (the others were The Chipmunk Songbook, The Chipmunks See Doctor Dolittle, and The Chipmunks Go To The Movies). (However, every track from the album has been available at one time or another on various compilation CDs.) On April 8, 2008, Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks finally was reissued on compact disc (Capitol 509992 08853 28).
Success
In its original release, the album was very successful on the charts peaking at #4 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart, making it the highest peaking album for the Chipmunks in their "singing careers". The album would eventually earn a GrammyGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Recording for Children in 1960.
Album cover variations
The original issue of the album depicted three realistic looking chipmunks on the cover, with Alvin making a pose like the then-recently deceased Al JolsonAl Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
. When the album was reissued two years later, a new cover was substituted, that of an Alvin Show
The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
animation cel
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
setup reenacting the poses the original chipmunks made, with the exception of Alvin, who was now shown as making a pose like Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. The 2008 compact disc reissue uses the 1961 front cover design along with the original 1959 back cover.
Track listing
All songs would later be adapted as animated musical segments for The Alvin ShowThe Alvin Show
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
.
Side one
- "The Chipmunks Sing-Along Song" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:00
- "Yankee DoodleYankee Doodle"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:57 - "Chipmunk Fun" (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:58
- "The Birdie SongChicken DanceThe "Chicken Dance" is an oom-pah song and its associated fad dance is now a contemporary American folk dance. The song was composed by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s....
" (Werner Thomas) – 2:28 - "Ding Dong Merrily on HighDing Dong Merrily on High"Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known as "le branle de l'Official" in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot...
" (George Ratcliffe WoodwardGeorge Ratcliffe WoodwardGeorge Ratcliffe Woodward was an Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance...
) – 2:16 - "Three Blind MiceThree Blind MiceThree Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:54 - "Alvin's HarmonicaAlvin's Harmonica"Alvin's Harmonica" is a song from the fictional musical group, Alvin and the Chipmunks, which also features additional vocals by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. who plays David Seville in the song. The song was released as the second single from the group's debut album, Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks in...
" (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 2:42
Side two
- "Good Morning to YouHappy Birthday to You"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" (Patty HillPatty HillPatty Smith Hill is perhaps best known for co-writing the tune which became popular as Happy Birthday to You. She was an American nursery school, kindergarten teacher, and key founder of the National Association Nursery Education which now exists as the National Association For the Education of...
, Mildred J. HillMildred J. HillMildred J. Hill was an American songwriter and musicologist, who composed the melody for "Good Morning to All", later used as the melody for "Happy Birthday to You".-Biography:...
) – 1:03 - "Hickory Dickory DockHickory Dickory Dock"Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Hickety Dickety Dock" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6489.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:Hickory, dickory, dock,The mouse ran up the clock....
" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 0:52 - "Horsey HorseyHorsey HorseyHorsey, horsey is a children's song written in 1938 by Paddy Roberts, Elton Box, Desmond Cox and Ralph Butler and which was made popular for Jack Jackson, Billy Cotton and Henry Hall....
" (Paddy RobertsPaddy Roberts (songwriter)John Godfrey Owen Roberts was a popular songwriter and singer, having previously been a lawyer and a pilot ....
, Elton Box, Desmond Cox, Ralph ButlerRalph ButlerRalph T. Butler was a British songwriter, responsible for the lyrics of many popular songs of the 1930s and later, mostly with comic or novelty elements.He was active as a songwriter from the late 1920s until the mid-1950s...
) – 1:12 - "Ragtime Cowboy JoeRagtime Cowboy Joe"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular song lyrics by Grant Clarke, music by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. © 1912, F.A. Mills, 122 W. 36th St, New York....
" (Maurice AbrahamsMaurice AbrahamsMaurice Abrahams was a successful American songwriter in the early years of the 20th century.Popular songs co-written by Abrahams included "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and "He'd Have to Get Under — Get Out and Get Under " ....
) – 2:08 - "Five Little Ducks" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:32
- "Pop Goes the WeaselPop Goes the Weasel"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.-Lyrics:There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song...
" (Trad., arr. Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) – 1:19 - "Twinkle Twinkle Little StarTwinkle Twinkle Little Star"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The lyrics are from an early nineteenth-century English poem, "The Star" by Jane Taylor. The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann...
" (Jane TaylorJane Taylor (poet)Jane Taylor , was an English poet and novelist. She wrote the words for the song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in 1806 at age 23, while living in Shilling Street, Lavenham, Suffolk....
, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
) – 3:31
Production credits
Ross Bagdasarian - ProducerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Ted Keep
Theodore Keep
Theodore "Ted" Keep was a co-founder of Liberty Records. In his role as chief of engineering at the label and afterward, Keep introduced a number of innovations to commercial sound recording....
- Engineer
Pate/Francis & Assoc. - cover design and actual artwork - [original pressing]
Studio Five - animation artwork - [reissue pressing]