In 1958, a down-on-his-luck songwriter with the unlikely name of Ross Bagdasarian (1919-1972), plunged the last of his family's savings on a multi-speed tape recorder and created two beloved and memorable songs: "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song". Both were #1 hits and changed the fortunes for his family and for his record label, Liberty Records, which was also on the verge of bankruptcy.
Bagdasarian previously had hits with Rosemary Clooney's "Come On-a My House" and with his own "Armen's Theme", released under his pseudonym of David Seville.
After "The Chipmunk Song" was a major hit, Bagdasarian parlayed this success into a series of record albums and singles and an animated series called The Alvin Show (1961-1962). This primetime animated series was made by Format Films, an animation studio founded by former UPA studio personnel. Format kept up with UPA's quality with The Alvin Show and other animated series like The Lone Ranger.
The complete story is told in this book