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Ross Bagdasarian
Ross S. Bagdasarian (/bæɡdəˈsɛəriən/; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmunks. Initially a stage and film actor, he rose to prominence in 1958 with the songs "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", which both became Billboard number-one singles. He produced and directed The Alvin Show, which aired on CBS in 1961–62.
Bagdasarian was born on January 27, 1919, in Fresno, California to an Armenian-American family. His father was a grape grower. He had two elder brothers: Richard Sirak (1910–1966) and Harry Sisvan (1915–1989). The novelist William Saroyan, with whom he was very close, was his first cousin.
Bagdasarian graduated from Fresno High School in 1937. He went to New York to work with his cousin Saroyan with the intention of becoming an actor. When World War II started, he enlisted and served four years as a control tower operator and rose to the rank of a staff sergeant (SSgt) in the Army Air Forces. He spent time in England, France and Spain; his later stage name "David Seville" originated from the fact that he was stationed in the city of Seville in Spain and he liked the city.
After the war, he returned to Fresno and married Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhanjian, and they tried for a time to be grape growers. They were unsuccessful and they moved to Los Angeles where he started a career as a songwriter.
Bagdasarian's Broadway debut was in 1939 when he played the newsboy in The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan, his cousin. He also appeared in minor roles in several films, such as Viva Zapata! (1952), Stalag 17 (1953), Destination Gobi (1953) and in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), he is the lonely composer at the piano. Acting in The Proud and Profane (1956), he also composed and performed the tie-in song The Ballad of Colin Black.
Bagdasarian's first major success with songwriting came with "Come On-a My House", which he co-wrote with William Saroyan in 1939. The song was rejected by many record companies as being "too ethnic", and it was not recorded until 1950 (by Kay Armen). The songwriters themselves recorded it as a duet in 1951. Mitch Miller of Columbia Records came across the song and persuaded Rosemary Clooney to record it. It became a million-selling hit. It is an adaptation of an Armenian folk song Bagdasarian wrote with his cousin William Saroyan. The song was originally composed for their off-Broadway musical The Son. It launched Clooney's career, reaching number one on Billboard charts and was number four on Billboard year-end top 30 singles of 1951. The song sold some 750,000 records in a month. In 1954, Bagdasarian wrote "Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine", a hit for Dean Martin.
In 1955 Bagdasarian signed with the then newly established Liberty Records. In early 1956 he had a transcontinental hit with the novelty record "The Trouble with Harry" (inspired by the homonymous Hitchcock film) credited to Alfi & Harry, although Alfi & Harry was just one person, Bagdasarian himself. It reached No. 44 on the Billboard chart and was a bigger hit in the United Kingdom reaching No. 15.
In 1956, he wrote an instrumental "Armen's Theme" named after his wife. The executives at Liberty Records suggested that he adopt a pseudonym as they thought his name too difficult to pronounce. In December 1956, he charted with his first record credited to his David Seville pseudonym, and "Armen's Theme" reached No. 42 on the Billboard chart.
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Ross Bagdasarian
Ross S. Bagdasarian (/bæɡdəˈsɛəriən/; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmunks. Initially a stage and film actor, he rose to prominence in 1958 with the songs "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", which both became Billboard number-one singles. He produced and directed The Alvin Show, which aired on CBS in 1961–62.
Bagdasarian was born on January 27, 1919, in Fresno, California to an Armenian-American family. His father was a grape grower. He had two elder brothers: Richard Sirak (1910–1966) and Harry Sisvan (1915–1989). The novelist William Saroyan, with whom he was very close, was his first cousin.
Bagdasarian graduated from Fresno High School in 1937. He went to New York to work with his cousin Saroyan with the intention of becoming an actor. When World War II started, he enlisted and served four years as a control tower operator and rose to the rank of a staff sergeant (SSgt) in the Army Air Forces. He spent time in England, France and Spain; his later stage name "David Seville" originated from the fact that he was stationed in the city of Seville in Spain and he liked the city.
After the war, he returned to Fresno and married Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhanjian, and they tried for a time to be grape growers. They were unsuccessful and they moved to Los Angeles where he started a career as a songwriter.
Bagdasarian's Broadway debut was in 1939 when he played the newsboy in The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan, his cousin. He also appeared in minor roles in several films, such as Viva Zapata! (1952), Stalag 17 (1953), Destination Gobi (1953) and in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), he is the lonely composer at the piano. Acting in The Proud and Profane (1956), he also composed and performed the tie-in song The Ballad of Colin Black.
Bagdasarian's first major success with songwriting came with "Come On-a My House", which he co-wrote with William Saroyan in 1939. The song was rejected by many record companies as being "too ethnic", and it was not recorded until 1950 (by Kay Armen). The songwriters themselves recorded it as a duet in 1951. Mitch Miller of Columbia Records came across the song and persuaded Rosemary Clooney to record it. It became a million-selling hit. It is an adaptation of an Armenian folk song Bagdasarian wrote with his cousin William Saroyan. The song was originally composed for their off-Broadway musical The Son. It launched Clooney's career, reaching number one on Billboard charts and was number four on Billboard year-end top 30 singles of 1951. The song sold some 750,000 records in a month. In 1954, Bagdasarian wrote "Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine", a hit for Dean Martin.
In 1955 Bagdasarian signed with the then newly established Liberty Records. In early 1956 he had a transcontinental hit with the novelty record "The Trouble with Harry" (inspired by the homonymous Hitchcock film) credited to Alfi & Harry, although Alfi & Harry was just one person, Bagdasarian himself. It reached No. 44 on the Billboard chart and was a bigger hit in the United Kingdom reaching No. 15.
In 1956, he wrote an instrumental "Armen's Theme" named after his wife. The executives at Liberty Records suggested that he adopt a pseudonym as they thought his name too difficult to pronounce. In December 1956, he charted with his first record credited to his David Seville pseudonym, and "Armen's Theme" reached No. 42 on the Billboard chart.
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