Forget Gorillaz, The Archies, or any other act that's crossed over from the cartoon world to the charts. The first, most prolific, and certainly the squeakiest two-dimensional hitmakers remain Alvin and the Chipmunks. 

The cutesy critters have released a remarkable 38 studio albums since creator Ross Bagdasarian realized that manipulating a tape recorder to play at various speeds can produce novelty music magic. More than a dozen have made the Billboard 200, four of which went top 10.  

While Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are now more renowned for giving the pop hits of the day the helium-like treatment, their crowning glory is, in fact, an original composition, and one which celebrates its 65th anniversary this December: "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)." 

From GRAMMY wins and chart records to Hollywood soundtracks and contemporary cover versions, here's a look why "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" remains one of the most beloved festive singalongs.

It Spawned The Entire Chipmunks Franchise 

Following the chart-topping success of his 1958 novelty hit "Witch Doctor" — which featured the then-uncredited Chipmunks on its memorable "ooh-ee-ooh-ah-ah" hook — Bagdasarian was asked by Liberty Records for a follow-up. Instead of continuing to use the rather mundane pseudonym of David Seville, the songwriter decided that not one but three cartoon chipmunks should take the credit. 

Mischievously named after label execs Al Bennett, Si Waronker, and Ted Keep, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were first depicted on the artwork for "The Chipmunk Song." And within three years, they were gracing their own comic book, animated TV series and numerous full-length LPs. 

The lovable rodents experienced a resurgence in popularity thanks to NBC's 1980s revival, and then again in the 2000s with the series of live-action movies. And their holiday tune has never been too far from their chubby cheeks.   

It's A Multiple GRAMMY Winner 

When guessing which act dominated the inaugural GRAMMYs of 1958, you'd probably plump for Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, or any number of swing, jazz, and blues legends that emerged during the post-war era. But you'd be wrong: the biggest winners on the night were three squeaky-voiced members of the Sciuridae family. 

Yes, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" picked up three awards — Best Recording for Children, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Engineered Record, Non-Classical — at the prestigious event. And Alvin and the Chipmunks also joined Ol' Blue Eyes in the Record Of The Year category, although both lost out to Dominico Modugno's Eurovision entry "Volare."  

It Held A Chart Record For 61 Years 

"The Chipmunk Song" became the first-ever Christmas tune to top the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, enjoying a four-week stint there across the 1958 holiday season. Remarkably, everything from Wham's "Last Christmas" and the Ronettes' "Sleigh Ride" to Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" and Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" failed to repeat this feat over the next 61 years. 

It was only when Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" finally hit the No. 1 spot in 2019, a full quarter-century after its release, that The Chipmunks got some company in this exclusive club. Carey has, of course, since made a habit of reaching pole position every Christmas, meaning she's surpassed the rodents' total by eight weeks (and counting). And 65 years after, Brenda Lee released her own holiday classic, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" has now broken all kinds of chart records to join the list, too.  

It's Had A Remarkable Shelf Life 

"The Chipmunk Song" could never be described as a passing fad. It returned to the Hot 100 throughout the early 1960s before becoming a staple of Billboard's Christmas Records chart (which has since become the Holiday 100, where the song peaked at No. 26 in 2015). And in December 2007, it enjoyed a revival thanks to the box office success of Alvin and the Chipmunks' first live-action adventure. Indeed, a new remix produced specially for the movie entered the Hot 100 (though it only peaked at No. 66). 

It's A Hollywood Favorite 

Along with chart success and its inevitable inclusion in Alvin and the Chipmunks' 2007 big-screen debut, "The Chipmunk Song" has received several onscreen shouts in both movies and television. 

The holiday hit has appeared in films as diverse as, 1993 family comedy Look Who's Talking, 1997 gangster thriller Donnie Brasco, and 2017 high-octane actioner The Fate of the Furious, but was perhaps most memorably used in the sun-kissed opening credits of Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical Almost Famous. It's also regularly graced the small screen including a 1998 festive "The King of Queens" episode which centered around leading man Doug's love of the song, and his father-in-law's pure hatred of it. 

It Was A Sales Juggernaut 

The teenage audience on American Bandstand might not have been a fan — "The Chipmunk Song" holds the unfortunate distinction of being the lowest-scored track in Rate-A-Record history — yet it seems like the rest of America couldn't get their hands on a copy quick enough. The novelty hit sold an astonishing 4.5 million copies in its first seven weeks, which remained a record until The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" sold five million within the same time frame six years later. 

It's also done big numbers in the digital age, amassing more than 665,000 paid downloads and over 112 million U.S. streams to date. In fact, according to Billboard, the two-minute ditty accumulates $300,000 every year for its publisher. It therefore sits comfortably inside the Top 20 best-selling Christmas songs of all time, but has some way to go to surpass the reported 50 million physical sales and more than 1.8 billion streams achieved by Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." 

It Boasts An Impressive Musical Pedigree 

Hailed as the vocal answer to session musician collective The Wrecking Crew, The Ron Hicklin Singers provided backup for artists as esteemed as Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Cash, and Frank Sinatra. But did you know their frontman also lent his tones, albeit in unrecognizable form, to a trio of fictional chipmunks? 

Yes, although he wasn't credited on "Christmas Don't Be Late," Hicklin and several other "ghost singers" worked painstakingly on the track, as he later told The Hollywood Reporter: "We'd sing in slow motion for everything. It was one of the hardest things we had to do. What was a four-bar phrase for The Beatles became an eight-bar phrase. You'd run out of breath. The sheer work of doing it was remarkable." 

It Even Impressed The Beatles 

In 1964, The Chipmunks capitalized on the rise of Beatlemania with a tribute album covering the likes of "Love Me Do," "Please Please Me," and "I Want To Hold Your Hand." You might think the Fab Four would take umbrage at hearing their perfectly crafted pop songs performed by a bunch of high-pitched cartoon rodents — but actually, The Chipmunks Sings The Beatles Hits had the full blessing of Liverpool's finest. According to Ross Bagdasarian Jr., John Lennon and co. were so impressed by his father's GRAMMY-winning engineering on "The Chipmunk Song" they gave him the freedom to do what he liked with their early hits.  

It Saved Liberty Records 

In a roundabout way, the likes of Bobby Vee, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and Willie Nelson all have "The Chipmunk Song" to thank for their early careers. Indeed, even with the success of "Witch Doctor," Liberty Records was in danger of going bankrupt as 1958 drew to a close. 

However, thanks to the multi-million sales of "Christmas Don't Be Late," the company was given a financial reprieve. They went on to give several chart-topping acts their big break and remained a thriving label until they were bought out by United Artists in 1971. And all this from a song that Liberty boss Al Bennett reportedly initially turned down! 

It's Now A Festive Standard 

Smooth saxophonist Kenny G and Latin pop vocalist Jaci Valesquez have both added their own touches to "Christmas Don't Be Late" on duets with the high-pitched trio. But the track has also been covered by artists without any specific chipmunk affiliation. 

Norah Jones served up a typically classy jazz rendition on her 2021 LP I Dream of Christmas. Bryson Tiller and Pentatonix gave it a vocal workout on the former's A Different Christmas album that same year, while on 2016's A Very Kacey Christmas, Kacey Musgraves turned the novelty tune into a charming country waltz. Tegan and Sara, Goo Goo Dolls, and Tamar Braxton are just a handful of other contemporary artists who have put their spin on "The Chipmunk Song" — a further testament to its acclaim as one of the all-time Christmas classics.   

New Holiday Songs For 2023: Listen To Festive Releases From Aespa, Brandy, Sabrina Carpenter & More

 

Every awards show has to start somewhere and Music's Biggest Night is no different.

More than a decade before the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast debuted on CBS in 1973 for everyone to see, the GRAMMY Awards got off to a swingin' start back in 1959. Though no television cameras were present, there was plenty of awards, black-tie formal wear and star power to go around.

Take a journey back to where it all began and learn about seven things that happened at the 1st GRAMMY Awards.

1. 1st GRAMMYs, Two Locations

The inaugural GRAMMY Awards was a bicoastal affair. On May 4, 1959, a black-tie dinner and awards presentation was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Hosted by comedian Mort Sahl, among the music elite in attendance were Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, singing cowboy Gene Autry, singer Peggy Lee, Tin Pan Alley alum Johnny Mercer, composer Henry Mancini, and pianist/conductor André Previn. At the same time, Recording Academy members convened for a simultaneous function at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City.

Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. at the 1st GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles
Photo: William Claxton/Courtesy Denmont Photo Management

2. The Chairman's First GRAMMY Win

<iframe src="https://tools.applemusic.com/embed/v1/album/724727840?country=us" height="500px" width="100%" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Sinatra was at the top of his acting and music game in the late '50s, so it's no surprise he emerged as the top nominee at the 1st GRAMMY Awards. His six nominations included two nods for Album Of The Year for Come Fly With Me and Only The Lonely, Record Of The Year for "Witchcraft," and two nominations for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Though the Chairman of the Board didn't win any of these categories, he did pick up his first win for Best Album Cover for Only The Lonely.

3. Count Basie To Ella Fitzgerald: Double The GRAMMY Pleasure

Who were the big winners at the first show? A total of six artists shared that distinction with two wins each. Mancini, jazz bandleader Count Basie, singer Ella Fitzgerald, conductor Felix Slatkin, Italian singer/songwriter Domenico Modugno, and Alvin And The Chipmunks music group creator Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (aka David Seville) picked up two GRAMMYs.

4. Mancini's Album Of The Year Mark

<iframe src="https://tools.applemusic.com/embed/v1/album/953533279?country=us" height="500px" width="100%" frameborder="0"></iframe>

As the composer of "The Pink Panther Theme," "Days Of Wine And Roses" and "Moon River," Mancini's ability to create memorable film and TV music was unrivaled. When the composer won Album Of The Year for The Music From Peter Gunn, he accomplished something that has yet to be duplicated in GRAMMY history. The Music From Peter Gunn, the music complement for the TV series that aired from 1958–1961, remains the lone television soundtrack to win the prestigious award. Three film soundtracks have been so recognized. Do you know which ones they are? (If you guessed Saturday Night Fever, The Bodyguard and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you're right on the money.)

5. Winners Recognized In 28 Categories

Speaking of winners, the 1st GRAMMY Awards crowned them in 28 categories. (By comparison, there are now 84 GRAMMY categories.) Six of the categories, representing nearly 25 percent of the entire field, were of the classical variety. In addition to Slatkin, the first GRAMMY classical winners included the Hollywood String Quartet, pianist Van Cliburn, guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Andrés Segovia, choir director Roger Wagner, and soprano Renata Tebaldi.

6. A Children's Song Gets A Record Of The Year Nod

<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SAS_JoUw7wA" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

"The Chipmunks Song," the cuddly brainchild of Bagdasarian, was among the nominees for Record Of The Year. Though it ended up not capturing the award, it holds the distinction of being the lone children's recording to be nominated in the category. (As mentioned earlier, the holiday song did net Bagdasarian two awards. It also earned Best Engineered Record — Non-Classical honors.)

7. Modugno's Foreign GRAMMY Record

<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f2P-RQ4s_f0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Italian singer/songwriter Modugno's "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" ("In The Blue That Is Painted Blue") was a huge hit worldwide, landing at No. 1 in the United States. The smooth ballad earned both Song and Record Of The Year honors at the inaugural GRAMMYs. To date, it is the only foreign-language recording to win either of those categories. Can "Despacito" match the mark? The Luis Fonsi/Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber smash is up for both categories for the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

Want More GRAMMY History? Pick A Copy Of And The GRAMMY Goes To…
 

Since Mike Piacentini’s switch from computer science to audio engineering in college, his family has been his biggest champions. So, when he received his nomination for Best Immersive Album for Madison Beer's pop album Silence Between Songs, at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was a no-brainer to invite his parents and wife.

“He’s always been into music. He had his own band, so [the shift] wasn’t surprising at all,” Piacentini’s mother says in the newest episode of Family Matters. “He’s very talented. I knew one day he would be here. It’s great to see it actually happen.”

In homage to his parents’ support, Piacentini offered to let his father write a short but simple acceptance in case he won: “Thank you, Mom and Dad,” he jokes.

Alongside his blood relatives, Piacentini also had support from his colleague Sean Brennan. "It's a tremendous honor, especially to be here with [Piacentini]. We work day in and day out in the studio," Brennan explains. "He's someone who's always there."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Mike Piacentini's support system, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Family Matters.

How Madison Beer Broke Free From Pressures Of Internet Fame & Created Her New Album 'Silence Between Songs'

It's fair to say that the 1980s hadn't been particularly kind to country legend Johnny Cash. Once considered the Don of the Nashville scene, the singer/songwriter suddenly found himself dropped by Columbia Records, recording terrible parody songs (remember "The Chicken in Black"?), and addicted to painkillers after a bizarre accident in which he was kicked by an ostrich.

But as the new decade approached, Cash's reputation gradually started to recover. A 1988 tribute album, 'Til Things Are Brighter, alerted a much younger indie generation of his catalog of classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And then arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, U2, invited him to take lead vocals on Zooropa's post-apocalyptic closer "The Wanderer." The scene was set for a triumphant comeback, and on 1994's American Recordings, the Man in Black duly obliged.

The Rick Rubin-produced album was far from a one-off. Cash delivered three American follow-ups in his lifetime (1996's Unchained, 2000's Solitary Man, and 2002's The Man Comes Around). And two posthumous volumes (2006's A Hundred Highways, 2010's Ain't No Grave)  further bridged the gap between his statuses as country outlaw and elder statesman — and helped further his legacy as one of country's all-time greats.

As the first American Recordings installment celebrates its 30th anniversary, here's a look at how the series deservedly rejuvenated the career of an American recording legend.

It United Him With A New Muse 

Best known for his pioneering work with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, Rick Rubin seemed an unusual fit for a sixty-something country singer whose glory days were considered decades behind him. But left spellbound by Cash's performance at a Bob Dylan anniversary gig in 1992, the superproducer offered to make the Nashville legend a superstar once more.

Cash took some persuading, but eventually agreed to join forces on the assurance he'd be in the creative driving seat, and a new unlikely dream team was born. Rubin lent his talents to all six volumes of American Recordings — co-producing the middle two with Cash's son John Carter Cash – and won the first GRAMMY of his career for his efforts. The Def Jam co-founder would also later work his magic with several other '60s heroes including Neil Diamond, Yusuf and Neil Young.

It Saw Cash Lean Into Contemporary Music More Than Ever

Cash had never been averse to tackling contemporary material. He covered Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman" in 1983, just a year after it appeared on The Boss' Nebraska. But the American Recordings series saw the Man in Black embrace the sounds du jour like never before, whether the grunge of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," electro-blues of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," or most famously, industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

On paper, this could have been nothing short of a disaster, the sign of an aging artist desperately latching onto a much younger musical generation in a transparent bid for relevancy. But instead, Cash elevates the Gen X classics into modern hymns, his sonorous voice injecting a sense of gravitas and Rubin's production stripping things back to their bare but compelling essentials. Far from an embarrassing grandad act, this was the sound of a man respectfully making the source material his own.

It Returned Cash To The Charts 

Cash had reached the lower end of the Billboard 200 in the '80s as part of supergroups The Highwaymen and Class of '55. But you had to go all the way back to 1976's One Piece at a Time to find his last entry as a solo artist. The American Recordings series, however, slowly but surely restored the Man in Black to his former chart glories.

Indeed, while its first two volumes charted at numbers 110 and 170 respectively, the third peaked at a slightly more impressive 88 and the fourth at 22, his highest position since 1970's Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. The posthumous fifth entry, meanwhile, went all the way to No. 1, remarkably the first time ever the country legend had achieved such a feat with a studio effort (live album At San Quentin had previously topped the charts in 1971).

"Hurt" also became Cash's first solo US country hit in 14 years in 2003. And while it only landed at No. 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, it remains Cash's most-streamed song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone.

It Included Masterful Collaborators 

As well as handing over the producer reins to Rubin, Cash also surrounded himself with some of the rock world's finest musicians. Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood all lent their considerable talents to Unchained. Sheryl Crow and Will Oldham did the same on Solitary Man, while Nick Cave, Fiona Apple and Don Henley joined him in the studio on The Man Comes Around.

But Cash also kept things more traditional by recruiting fellow country legend Merle Haggard, 'fifth Beatle'Billy Preston, and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" songwriter Jack Clement, while the presence of wifeJune Carter Cash and son John made the third American Recordings something of a family affair.

It Went Back To Basics 

While American Recordings was, in many respects, Cash's most forward-thinking album, it wasn't afraid to keep one foot in the past, either. For one, the star recorded most of its first volume in his Tennessee cabin armed with only a guitar, a throwback to his 1950s beginnings with first producer Sam Phillips.

Cash also trawled through his own back catalog for inspiration, re-recording several tracks he believed had unfairly gone under the radar including 1955 single "Mean Eyed Cat," murder ballad "Delia's Gone" from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash, and "I'm Leaving Now" from 1985's Rainbow.

It Proved He Was Still A Masterful Songwriter…

Although Cash's unlikely covers grabbed most of the attention, the American Recordings series showed that his stellar songwriting skills remained intact throughout his later years, too. "Meet Me in Heaven," for example, is a beautifully poignant tribute to the older brother who died at just 15, while the folksy "Let the Train Blow the Whistle" added to Cash's arsenal of railroad anthems.

"Drive On," meanwhile, is worthy of gracing any Best Of compilation, a powerful lament to those who came back from the Vietnam War with both emotional and physical scars ("And even now, every time I dream/ I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream").

…And Still A Master Interpreter 

As well as putting new spins on his own songs and various contemporary rock favorites, Cash further displayed both his interpretive and curatorial skills by covering a variety of spirituals, standards and pop hits first released during his commercial heyday.

The likes of early 19th century gospel "Wayfaring Stranger," wartime favorite "We'll Meet Again," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" may have been firmly in Cash's wheelhouse. But more leftfield choices such as Loudon Wainwright III's offbeat morality tale "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" proved that even when outside his comfort zone, he could stamp his own identity with aplomb.

It Made Him An Unlikely MTV Star 

Cash was 62 years old when American Recordings hit the shelves — not exactly a prime age for MTV play. Yet thanks to some inspired creative decisions, the career-reviving series spawned two videos that received regular rotation on the network. Firstly, "Delia's Gone" caught attention for two major reasons: it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the man renowned for his long-running creative partnership with Depeche Mode, and it starred Kate Moss, the world's biggest supermodel at the time, as the titular victim.  

Then nine years later, Cash picked up six nominations — winning Best Cinematography — at the MTV Video Music Awards thanks to Mark Romanek's emotionally devastating treatment for "Hurt." Interspersing clips of the clearly fragile country singer at the rundown Museum of Cash with footage from his earlier days and artistic shots of decaying fruits and flowers, the promo perfectly embodied the transient nature of life. And it had the capacity to reduce even the hardest of hearts to tears.

It Added To His GRAMMY Haul 

Cash won almost as many GRAMMYs with his American Recordings series as he had during the previous 40 years of his career. The Man in Black first added to his trophy collection in 1995 when the first volume won Best Contemporary Folk Album. This was the first time he'd been recognized at the ceremony for his musical talents since the June Carter Cash duet "If I Were A Carpenter" won Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group with Vocal back in 1971  

Three years later, Unchained was crowned Best Country Album. And after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Cash won 2001's Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man," then again in the same Category for "Give My Love to Rose"in 2003. He posthumously won two more GRAMMYs for Best Short Form Video, in 2004 for "Hurt" and in 2008 for "God's Gonna Cut You Down." In total, the American Recordings series won Cash six more GRAMMYs, bringing his overall count to 13. 

It Was A Powerful Epitaph

In 1997, Cash was told he'd just 18 months to live after being misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative condition Shy-Drager syndrome (later changed to autonomic neuropathy). He ended up outliving this prognosis by a good four years, but during this period, he lost the love of his life and was forced to record his swansong in-between lengthy stints in the hospital.  

Little wonder, therefore, that the American Recordings series is defined by the theme of mortality: see "The Man Comes Around," a biblical ode to the Grim Reaper ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse/ And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"), Death Row anthem "The Mercy Seat," and funeral favorite "Danny Boy." As with David Bowie's Blackstar, Cash was able to reflect on his impermanence in his own terms in a sobering, yet compelling manner that continues to resonate decades on. 

8 Artists Bringing Traditional Country Music Back: Zach Top, Randall King, Emily Nenni & More On Why "What's Old Becomes Beloved Again"

Jon Batiste walked into the 2022 GRAMMYs with a whopping 11 nominations, making him the most recognized artist of the evening. By the end of the night, he received five GRAMMYs for Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Music Video, and the highly coveted Album Of The Year.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch Batiste take the stage to accept the award for Album Of The Year for his sixth studio album, We Are

Batiste began his praises by acknowledging God: "I just put my head down and work on the craft every day. I love music, he said. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. It's more than entertainment for me — it's a spiritual practice." He also thanked the "many people that went into making this album," including his grandfather, nephew, father, and executive producer, Ryan Lynn.

"This [award] is for real artists, real musicians. Let's just keep going. Be you! That's it. I love you even if I don't know you," Batiste cheered.

Press play on the video above to hear Jon Batiste's complete acceptance speech and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

Watch: Jon Batiste Delivers A Heartfelt Performance Of “Ain’t No Sunshine” & “Lean On Me” | 2024 GRAMMYs Performance