When I was little we had a Christmas LP (!) called something like “Disney’s Christmas Favorites”, and it had a song by C&D called “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. Well, being much loved, the LP eventually died and ever since I’ve been searching for that album and those songs. I’ve bought two Disney Christmas compilations over the last two Christmases. One was “Disney’s Favorite Christmas Songs”, but only had a couple of the tracks (no Chip n Dale), and the other was “Disney Presents A Family Christmas” which has all but two of the songs of the first album. Those two missing songs are “I Wish It Could Be Christmas All Year Long” and of course Chip and Dale’s “Chipmunk Song”.
So I’ve turned to the net. I’ve searched every MP3 resource that I know about. All of them have “The Chipmunk Song”, but NONE have the original version by C&D. Instead, I’ve heard countless copies of the inferior and annoying Alvin and the Chipmunks edition. No, no no! Alvin sucks. I want Chip and Dale!! Yet all I can find is the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers theme song. What is this crap? When I was a kid, C&D weren’t rescue rangers, they were fuzzy little guys who played tricks on Donald Duck and stole his acorns. They sat in a walnut on Walt Disney’s desk and sang a cute song about themselves. None of this stuff is anywhere to be found, just rescue rangers and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Is there anyone out there who remembers the stuff I’m talking about?? Please tell me I didn’t imagine all this stuff!! And if you can help me find the proper original “Chipmunk Song”, I’ll be forever in your debt! Christmas just isn’t the same without Chip and Dale.
I could be wrong but I thought the David Seville Alvin and The Chipmunks verion WAS the original version. Maybe look under “Ross Bagdasarian” which is Seville’s real name? It’s possible Disney recorded a version with C&D but I have never ever heard it.
My question is: Are you sure Chip and Dale did a version of this song? Disney would have had to buy the rights for it, and I don’t recall ever hearing anything of the sort, which could be why you can’t find it.
I am totally sure! It was on the Christmas LP that I listened to every December for most of my life, until it became scratched too badly to play anymore a couple of years ago. It was so definitely Chip and Dale, and NOT Alvin and the Chipmunks. Plus, I’ve heard the Alvin version plenty of times now and I know it’s very different.
It’s on a Disney Christmas collection. The album cover is blue, and has pictures of the main characters carolling on it. On the same album Molly Ringwood does a version of The First Noel. The songs are performed by Larry Groce, the Mike Sammes Singers and a Disney choir. It existed! I swear to you!!
“We can hardly stand to wait, please Christmas don’t be late”
I suppose you could look it up on some web sight but that’s too close to actual work. It is my fading recollection that Alvin and the Chipmunks did a perfectly awful novelty Chrismas Time record in the late 50s or early 60s that was a tremendous popular success. It was almost as big a deal as the God awful Little Drummer Boy (burmb ba bum bum to you too, Buddy). For several Christmases in a row there was a constant barrage of squeaky little chipmunk voices alternating with Norman Luboff (sp?), only occasionally mitigated by Bing Crosby singing White Christmas or yodeling on about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Some attribute my warped and unattractive mature personality to a youthful exposure to Alvin and the Chipmunks. The other members of the rodent trio were Theodore and, as I now recall, Garfield (after the martyred president).
Thanks for the suggestion, Gelding, but I’ve searched the web and haven’t been able to find it. That’s why I came here. I thought I made it clear in the OP that I have done a lot of searching for this recording.
Could it be the sixth item on this page? No songlist, unfortunately. And the characters are not carolling, but tobogganing, but the title is exactly the one you mention, and the performers the same.
If not, maybe a time frame might help us find it for you. You say you listened to it “since you were little” without any indication of your age. Can you give us a decade at least? (50s, 60s, etc.)
Or maybe it’s this page on the same site. The eight item down is called “Disney’s Merry Chrismas Carols” and has a blue cover with the carollers as you mentioned.
I tend to think it’s this one since another site mentioned Chip and Dale as being on the LP, althought they didn’t give a complete list.
If you search on Google with the name of the LP in quotes, (or you can use the album number which is “Disneyland 2514”) you should be able to find 8-10 different places selling it for $8-$15 in near mint condition.
Personally, I remember a Chip and Dale theme song that starts with them singing “I’m Chip!” “I’m Dale!” and ends with “We are Chip and Daaaaale!”. I would be interested in seeing if it is available in MP3 form.
And if you click on the thumbnail you get an image that’s big enough that you can read the small writing in the lower left corner, which says: INCLUDING: The Chipmunk Song * Joy to the World… (Yes, I am trying to get out of doing any honest work, how did you guess?)
So, cazzle, there you have proof that you were partially right - Chip and Dale did a, um, cover version of this song.
Hey, if you only heard it on the christmas album, how do you know it wasn’t covered by Alvin & the Chipmunks? Even if you saw them singing it on tv, maybe C&D were just lip-synching, kind of an animated Milli Vanilli?
MisterThyristor, Flodnak, thank you both. That’s the album and the song. It did exist! I’m just shocked and astounded that no other Dopers ever had that album or heard that song. I guess 1980 wasn’t a good year for buying Christmas albums. Still, I have a feeling that there was a television special to accompany the album. Could be wrong about that.
I’m off to buy me a copy of Disney’s Merry Christmas Carols, and relive my childhood.
