Ross Bagdasarian

Ross Bagdasarian was a musician from Fresno, California who found an unusual path to pop success in the late 1950s. He discovered that by manipulating tape speed on a recorder, he could create high-pitched voices, which led him to invent the Chipmunks characters Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. His first hit with this technique was 'Witch Doctor,' a novelty song that caught on quickly.

That same year, 1958, Bagdasarian released 'Come On-A My House' under the Chipmunks name. The song's sped-up vocals and catchy tune made it a massive hit, topping the Billboard chart and selling millions of copies. He followed it with 'The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late),' which became a holiday standard.

Bagdasarian continued recording Chipmunks albums through the 1960s, including titles like 'Alvin's Harmonica' and 'Chipmunks à Go-Go.' He performed all the Chipmunk singing voices himself under the pseudonym David Seville. While some critics dismissed the sped-up vocals as a gimmick, the recordings found a lasting audience with both children and adults.