Alvin and the Chipmunks still finding fame at 50
At 50, Alvin and the Chipmunks have never been cuter - or bigger.
John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960 when he jotted off a memo to a songwriter. "I'm glad to know that I have at least one worthy opponent," the note said. Kennedy wasn't referring to Richard Nixon. He was talking about Alvin Seville, the furry, animated chipmunk with a red baseball cap who is the lead singer of the group Alvin and the Chipmunks. That year, Alvin released a song called "Alvin for President," with an ambitious platform. "I promise you two bicycles in every garage, four Christmases every year," Alvin vowed, to a melody as catchy as any Beach Boys ditty.
Alvin turns 50 this year, and he's experiencing a major popularity surge - not bad for a cartoon character who won his first Grammy in 1958. At the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Alvin's latest movie (a CGI adventure called "Alvin and the Chipmunks") was named the year's best film by tweens, who helped it gross $217 million domestically. Alvin and his two background singers - Simon and Theodore - were recently inducted into Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and they just dropped "Undeniable," their first new album in a decade.
It's fairly common for an animated franchise to run forever on nostalgia fumes, but terminal cuteness is only part of their success. The Chipmunk empire has assiduously updated its chirpy repertoire to appeal to the next generation. Many kids in the '80s heard the Chipmunks wholesome version of "Beat It" long before they heard Michael Jackson's original. Even their story line - three orphans who become pop stars only to find themselves tested by the temptations of sudden fame - never grows old.
The Chipmunks were invented by Ross Bagdasarian. In 1958, struggling to pay his mortgage, Bagdasarian wrote a song called "Witch Doctor" and he sped up the vocals with a $190 tape recorder. Although the lyrics sounded like a coughing train engine ("ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang"), it became a hit, and the Chipmunks were born as the squeaky voices of the song. Alvin was such a hot ticket, that by 1961, he landed his own TV show. He got a second series in the '80s, which ran for eight seasons on Saturday mornings. So far, the Chipmunks have pulled in $1 billion in retail sales and pushed 44 million records.
The Chipmunks have achieved fame through their song covers. Even the rights-shy Beatles gave them permission to record after Bagdasarian met them in London, and the Chipmunks have duplicated songs from rock stars as big as Elvis ("Heartbreak Hotel"), the Beach Boys ("Surfin' USA"), Little Richard ("Tutti Frutti") and Billy Joel ("Uptown Girl").
Ross Bagdasarian Jr., who took over after his father died in 1972, says artists are usually thrilled at the prospect of Chipmunkification. "They see it as a cultural compliment if the Chipmunks cover their tunes," he says. "They know we are going to do a faithful, high-quality production."
A movie sequel, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakuel," is scheduled for Christmas 2009 and will also feature the Chipettes. These girl Chipmunks, who were introduced in the '80s and once covered "Material Girl" on a shopping spree, are named Eleanor, Jeanette - and Brittany. Brittany dresses in pink costumes that bring to mind another, arguably less famous, Britney. But don't blame her for Ms. Spears' success. She's too good to be that bad.