Editing Alvin and the Chipmunks (section)

{{short description|Virtual band and media franchise}}
{{about|the band created in 1958|other uses}}
{{use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Alvin and the Chipmunks
| image             = Alvin and the chipmunks1958.jpg
| caption           = Official logo
| origin            = California, United States
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]|[[children's music|children's]]|[[Christmas music|Christmas]]}}
| years_active      = 1958–present
| label             = {{flat list|
* [[Liberty Records|Liberty]]
* [[Ross Bagdasarian|Chipmunk]]
* [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
* [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]
* [[Sony Wonder|Sony]]
* [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
}}
| spinoffs          = [[The Chipettes]]
| current_members   = Alvin Seville<br />Simon Seville<br />Theodore Seville<!-- Do Not Add any members -->
| website           = {{Official website|https://www.alvinandthechipmunks.com/}}
}}
'''Alvin and the Chipmunks''', originally '''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 (song)|Witch Doctor]]". Later in 1958, Bagdasarian released the similarly engineered "[[The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]]" for which he came up with the chipmunk characters and their human father, attributing the track to them. The Chipmunks were first depicted in animated form in ''[[The Alvin Show]]'' (1961). ''David Seville and the Chipmunks'' released several more records over the following decade until Bagdasarian's death in 1972. The franchise was revived in 1973, with the characters' voices provided by his son [[Ross Bagdasarian Jr.]] and the latter's wife [[Janice Karman]].

Through the successful franchise, the Chipmunks have become one of the most successful children's artists of all time. It has garnered two number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and won five Grammy Awards, having four Top 10 albums on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and three certified platinum albums. "The Chipmunk Song" became one of the [[List of best-selling singles|best-selling singles]] of all time at 5 million physical copies sold. In 2019, The Chipmunks received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].<ref name="NBCLA"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://walkoffame.com/alvin-and-the-chipmunks/|access-date=18 November 2024 |title=Alvin & the Chipmunks |date=July 27, 2021 }}</ref>