| Rockin' Through the Decades | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (characters) |
| Written by | Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Janice Karman |
| Directed by | Steve Karman |
| Starring | Will Smith (host) Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Janice Karman Ben Vereen Richard Moll Kenny Loggins Raven-Symoné Shelley Duvall Markie Post Little Richard |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Steve Karman Walt Kubiak Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby |
| Running time | 19 minutes |
| Production companies | Bagdasarian Productions Murakami-Wolf-Swenson |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 9, 1990 |
Rockin' Through the Decades is a live-action/animated TV special based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was directed by Steve Karman, produced by Bagdasarian Productions, and premiered on NBC on December 9, 1990.[1]
The special was released on VHS by Buena Vista Home Video in 1992 as Rockin' with the Chipmunks and aired on the Disney Channel the same year. On September 8, 2009 it was released on DVD as part of the Paramount Home Entertainment release The Very First Alvin Show, which also included the first episode of The Alvin Show and the 1985 special A Chipmunk Reunion.
Rockin' with the Chipmunks made significant changes to the featured songs.
Segments from two episodes of The Alvin Show, A Chipmunk Christmas and an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show are also featured. "Alvin's Harmonica" briefly plays during the live-action introduction of the 1950s segment. The "Sleigh Ride" segment is preceded by a rap from Smith, giving his perspective on what to expect of the 1990s.
| Rockin' Through the Decades | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | January 25, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | November 1988 (track 1), July–September 1989 (tracks 2-11), December 1990 (track 12) | |||
| Genre | Children's music | |||
| Label | EMI America (US), Virgin (International) | |||
| Producer | Tom Chase, Steve Rucker (track 1), Ross Bagdasarian, Janice Karman (tracks 2-11), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (track 12) | |||
| The Chipmunks chronology | ||||
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A soundtrack album also titled Rockin' Through the Decades was released by Chipmunk Records in 1991. It contained all of the songs from the TV special, plus three additional songs.[3]
