Creative Chipmunks Visit Again This Holiday Season
Posted from Royal Oak, Michigan--
When my brothers and I were young, we would endlessly listen to the singing Chipmunks, a creative venture if there ever was one.
Alvin and the Chipmunks were the brainchild of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consisted of three cute animal personalities, known worldwide as Alvin, Theodore and Simon. The Chipmunks were named after their record company executives. Very clever.
Most cartoons today begin as an animated offering and then branch out into music. The Chipmunks did the opposite. After winning two Grammys for engineering and earning the number one song in America, the act was rolled out as a cartoon series and in the movies.
Why the Grammys? All three of the Chipmunk voices were performed by Bagdasarian, who multi-tracked his voice at a half-speed and then sped up the playback to create the higher-pitched voices. The technique was not new. The Wizard of Oz movie, for example, used a similar technique to achieve the voices of the munchkins.
Contemporary recording artists such as David Bowie, Prince and Kanye West still play tricks with recording speeds. The effect is much easier with today's technology and can be attained in real time, which makes the achievement of Bagdasarian all the more noteworthy.
Why the Grammys? All three of the Chipmunk voices were performed by Bagdasarian, who multi-tracked his voice at a half-speed and then sped up the playback to create the higher-pitched voices. The technique was not new. The Wizard of Oz movie, for example, used a similar technique to achieve the voices of the munchkins.
Contemporary recording artists such as David Bowie, Prince and Kanye West still play tricks with recording speeds. The effect is much easier with today's technology and can be attained in real time, which makes the achievement of Bagdasarian all the more noteworthy.
"I still want a hula-hoop"
We had the 45 and played it on an old record player every Christmas season. You brought back a memory.
Posted by:Christine | December 09, 2007 at 07:23 PM