Friday, April 28, 2006

The Witch Doctor - April 28, 1958

On April 28th in 1958 "The Witch Doctor" hits number one on the Billboard charts. Other than it being one of my favorite songs, I bring it up because it's the major introduction of the Chipmunk sound. Ross Bagdasarian used a faster speed for his voice than the music to record the witch doctor's profound advice: Oo Ee Oo Ah Ah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang.

Bagdasarian (AKA David Seville) used this method later on when he recorded the Chipmunks' albums and shows. It was also used more recently on Akon's cover of Bobby Vinton's Mr. Lonely.



Yes, I know it's a silly piece of history, but I do love the Chipmunks and this song helped pave their way. By the way, the Chipettes got their picture in because I love Jeanette so much. She and Simon are so much cooler than Alvin. ;p

The Witch Doctor Lyrics
The Chipmunks History - can also listen to a clip of the song there
David Seville and The Chipmunks
Witch Doctor - Wikidpedia
This Day in History - The Witch Doctor
The Witch Doctor - MP3 download site

2 comments:

Peter Matthes said...

I think Jeanette and Simon had a "thing".

Shadowspun said...

Yup! Hey, nerds have to stick together!