On This Day
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"The Chipmunk Song" by the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Seville) hits #1

Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally known as David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first...

Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally known as David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunk brothers named Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The characters have since featured in several television series and films, as well as other media.

Bagdasarian provided the group's voices by producing sped-up recordings of his own, a technique pioneered on the successful "Witch Doctor".

Historical Significance

Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally known as David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958.

Events Before

  1. Sputnik 1 Launch

    The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, igniting the Space Age and the US-Soviet Space Race.

  2. An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks in one of the most famous i

    An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA's Operation Harvest

  3. Aviator Howard Hughes marries 2nd wife actress Jean Peters

    Aviator Howard Hughes marries 2nd wife actress Jean Peters

  4. South African golfer Gary Player (21) weds childhood sweetheart Vivienne Verwey, until her death in 2021

    South African golfer Gary Player (21) weds childhood sweetheart Vivienne Verwey, until her death in 2021

  5. English-American actress Elizabeth Taylor's 2nd divorce from English actor Michael Wilding, after almost 5 years of marr

    English-American actress Elizabeth Taylor's 2nd divorce from English actor Michael Wilding, after almost 5 years of marriage

Events After

  1. Johnny Cash performs the first of many free concerts behind bars at San Quentin State Prison in California

    Johnny Cash performs the first of many free concerts behind bars at San Quentin State Prison in California

  2. Chad becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community

    The French Community (French: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of…

  3. USSR's Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to escape Earth's gravity

    A gravity assist, gravity assist maneuver, swing-by, or generally a gravitational slingshot in orbital mechanics, is a type of spaceflight flyby which makes use of the relative movement (e.g.

  4. TV western "Rawhide," starring Clint Eastwood, premieres on CBS

    TV western "Rawhide," starring Clint Eastwood, premieres on CBS

  5. Plane crash known as "The Day the Music Died" kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big

    Plane crash known as "The Day the Music Died" kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper), and the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa

More from the 1950s

Sputnik 1 Launch

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, igniting the Space Age and the US-Soviet Space Race.

space explorationscience technology

"The Bob Cummings Show" premieres on NBC (later moves to CBS)

"The Bob Cummings Show" premieres on NBC (later moves to CBS)

death

Emil Jannings dies

Emil Jannings, Swiss-born German actor, known for german actor, died on 1950-01-02. Emil Jannings was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s.

The European Economic Community comes into effect, better known as the European Common Market

The European Economic Community comes into effect, better known as the European Common Market

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 28, 1958?
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally known as David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunk brothers named Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The characters have since featured in several television series and films, as well as other media.
Why is "The Chipmunk Song" by the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Sevi... significant?
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally known as David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958.

Explore More

December 28 in HistoryYear 1958