Everybody loves Alvin & The Chipmunks. I don't know anybody who turns off the radio when their big Christmas hit plays. And because everyone loved them, and everyone knew the tape manipulation gimmick that made their distinctive sound, there were plenty of people who thought they could do the same thing to make a quick buck. And people who think like that don't usually have very good imaginations, so they all made their characters chipmunks as well. I mean if you're going to rip something off, you may as well do it all the way, right? Anyhow, I've collected up a few of those copycats, err, I mean copy-'munks, for you today, starting here with one that didn't even bother to change the name of the band. This was produced by the fine folks at Cameo-Parkway, undoubtedly something to do with Allen Klein. A quick check of
Discogs tells me that somebody complained and the name of the band got changed eventually to The Beavers. Too little too late if you ask me. Anyhow, this is
The Chipmunks (Not!)-
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Wyncote Stereo W 9153, Stereo, 1966). Stay tuned, more to come!
1. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Frosty The Snowman
3. Jingle Bells
4. Deck The Halls
5. O Tannenbaum
6. Good King Wenceslas
7. Twelve Days Of Christmas
8. Let It Snow
9. Sleighride
MEGA
-Rudolph%20The%20Red-Nosed%20Reindeer-Smaller.jpg)
-Rudolph%20The%20Red-Nosed%20Reindeer-Side%201-Smaller.jpg)
I don’t know why but I love those Wyncote Christmas albums!
ReplyDeletePerhaps you need to consult a doctor... :)
DeleteNot everyone loves the Chipmunks. Just recently I did a review of "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" records where I refused to include the rodents' rendition.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I did like their first Christmas record, but I was a child and my critical faculties were not fully developed.
Scrooge!!
DeleteHi Ernie-
ReplyDeleteLast year I shared several years' worth of my old Christmas mixes digitally. I just sent this year's mix to the same email you gave me last year. I modified the Jud Strunk 45 sleeve for my cover art!
Thanks a million for everything you do!!!!
Got it! Thanks very much!
DeleteWe were a little late with the Christmas cards this year, but I'll surely send that along when we get them in.
DeleteNo worries. A Christmas comp is better than a card any day. :)
DeleteYou may only know me from comments here (and at the FA) but I have always been annoyed by Alvin, though not so much Simon and Theodore. I do turn off the radio or change the channel if I hear their "hit". To me it's a deadly earworm. It's too cutesy, even cutesy-poo. No, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis may not be the series for you then...
DeleteThat's okay, you'll post plenty more that is for me, I'm sure! And thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying!!
DeleteI indeed love the Chipmunks and always have, though most people I know CAN'T STAND THEM. The nickname "The Shitmunks" is pretty common among my friends. That said, I was always impressed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr./David Seville's craftsmanship. When you realize he was singing each note twice as long as you hear it on the record; hell, that guy had breath control Sinatra might have envied. He wasn't the first to speed up voice tracks, but he was the first to give them PERSONALITY. And his "unmunked" records, whether as "David Seville" or under his own name, were often brilliant. Love his instrumentals!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love Ross Bagdasarian's solo stuff. Hard to find, though some of it shows up on the b-sides of early Chipmunk singles. I think there's a Japanese issue CD that covers a huge chunk of it, but a copy of that is beyond the means of us mere mortals. :)
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