Alvin and the chipmunks is an animated music group created in 1958 by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. The group is made up of three singing chipmunks: Alvin, the troublemaking leader; Simon, the tall intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressible one. Their human father David Seville manages the group. Bagdasarian used this name as his stage name and the Chipmunks are named after the executives of their record label. Bagdasarian voiced all the characters and sped up their voices to their trademark high-pitched sound. It was not a new novelty, but was unique enough to earn the Chipmunks two Grammys for engineering. The characters gained success in their cartoon productions and films. Their films include a live-action adaptation in 2007, a sequel in 2009, and a third film called Chip-wrecked that is set to be released on December 2011.

Bagdasarian released a novelty record in 1958 that featured the Chipmunks first big break on The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Dont Be Late). The very successful record launched the careers of the chipmunks and sold over four million copies in seven weeks. The song stayed at number on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.