Wikipedia

Ross Bagdasarian

(Redirected fromRoss Bagdasarian Sr.)
For his son, seeRoss Bagdasarian Jr.

Ross S. Bagdasarian[a](/bæɡdəˈsɛəriən/;January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage nameDavid "Dave" Seville,[3]was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor of Armenian descent best known for creating thecartoon bandAlvin 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 becameBillboardnumber-one singles.He produced and directedThe Alvin Show,which aired onCBSin 1961–62.

Ross S. Bagdasarian Sr.
Born(1919-01-27)January 27, 1919
Fresno, California,U.S.
DiedJanuary 16, 1972(1972-01-16)(aged 52)
Beverly Hills, California,U.S.
Resting placeChapel of the Pines Crematory
Other namesDavid Seville(stage name)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
Years active1939–1972
Notable workAlvin and the Chipmunks
StyleNovelty music[1]
TelevisionThe Alvin Show(1961–62)
Spouse
Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhan gian Bagdasarian
​
​
(m.1946)​
[2]
Children3, includingRoss Jr.
RelativesWilliam Saroyan(cousin)
Janice Karman(daughter-in-law)
Aram Saroyan (first cousin once removed)
Lucy Saroyan(first cousin once removed)
Strawberry Saroyan(first cousin twice removed)

Early life

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Bagdasarian[a]was born on January 27, 1919, inFresno, Californiato anArmenian-Americanfamily.[8]His father was a grape grower.[9]He had two elder brothers: Richard Sirak (1910–1966) and Harry Sisvan (1915–1989).[8]The novelistWilliam Saroyan,with whom he was very close, was his first cousin.[10][11]

Bagdasarian graduated fromFresno High Schoolin 1937.[8]He went to New York to work with his cousin Saroyan with the intention of becoming an actor.[9]WhenWorld War IIstarted, he enlisted and served four years as a control tower operator[12]and rose to the rank of astaff sergeant(SSgt) in theArmy Air Forces.[13]He spent time in England, France and Spain;[9]his later stage name "David Seville" originated from the fact that he was stationed in the city ofSevillein Spain and he liked the city.[9][14]

After the war, he returned to Fresno and married Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhan gian, 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.[9]

Career

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Acting

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Bagdasarian'sBroadwaydebut was in 1939 when he played the newsboy inThe Time of Your LifebyWilliam Saroyan,his cousin.[15]He also appeared in minor roles in several films, such asViva Zapata!(1952),Stalag 17(1953),Destination Gobi(1953),Rear Window(1954), andThe Proud and Profane(1956).[16][15]Notably, inAlfred Hitchcock'sRear Window,he is the lonely composer at the piano,.[17]InStalag 17,he sings "I Love You" in a pivotal scene at the POW Christmas Party.

Singing and songwriting

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Bagdasarian's major success with songwriting came with "Come On-a My House".The song was rejected by many record companies as being" too ethnic ", untilMitch MillerofColumbia Recordscame across the song, liked it and persuadedRosemary Clooneyto record it.[9]The song was originally recorded byKay Armenin 1950, but the version recorded byRosemary Clooneyin 1951 turned into a million-selling hit.[16]It is an adaptation of an Armenian folk song Bagdasarian wrote with his cousinWilliam Saroyan.[18][19][20]The song was originally composed for theiroff-BroadwaymusicalThe Son.[21]It launched Clooney's career, reaching number one onBillboardchartsand was number four on Billboardyear-end top 30 singles of 1951.[22]The song sold some 750,000 records in a month.[23]In 1954, he wrote "Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine",a hit forDean Martin.[16]

In 1955 Bagdasarian signed with the then newly establishedLiberty Records.In early 1956 he had a transcontinental hit with the novelty record "The Trouble with Harry" (inspired by thehomonymous Hitchcock film) credited to Alfi & Harry,[24][25]although Alfi & Harry was just one person, Bagdasarian himself.[26]It reached No. 44 on theBillboardchart[27]and was a bigger hit in the United Kingdom reaching No. 15.[28]

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.[9]In December 1956, he charted with his first record credited to his David Seville pseudonym, and "Armen's Theme" reached No. 42 on theBillboardchart.[29]

Dave Seville and the Chipmunks

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Bagdasarian pictured in the 1950s

Bagdasarian's rise to prominence came with the song "Witch Doctor"in 1958,[30]which was created after he experimented with the speed control on atape recorderbought with $200 (around $2,000 adjusted for inflation as of 2022) from the family savings.[31]Liberty Recordsreleased thisnovelty recordunder the David Seville name. It is a duet between his real voice and accelerated version.[16]The record went on to become aBillboardnumber-one singleby April 28, 1958, and further established him as a songwriter.[20]It sold 1.5 million copies.[32]

Bagdasarian went on to create his trio of Chipmunks named after the executives of Liberty Records: Simon, Theodore, and Alvin, named forSimon "Si" Waronker,Theodore "Ted" Keep,and Alvin Bennett.[16][33]Their debut song, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"was released on November 17, 1958, and became a number one hit by New Years Day.[34]The song sold 4 million records in the first few months.[15]It toppedBillboardcharts the two weeks before and two weeks after New Years and won three Grammy Awards at the1st Annual Grammy Awardson May 4, 1959:Best Recording for Children,Best Comedy Performance,andBest Non-Classical Engineered Song.[35][36]Bagdasarian won the first two as David Seville. The song was the 23rd most performed Christmas song of the 20th century.[37]

Shana Alexander,writing forLifemagazine in 1959, noted that Bagdasarian was the first case in the "annals of popular music that one man has served as writer, composer, publisher, conductor and multiple vocalist of a hit record, thereby directing all possible revenues from the song back into his pocket." Alexander also found it remarkable that Bagdasarian "can neither read nor write music nor play any musical instrument in the accepted sense of the word."[38]Bagdasarian owned Chipmunk Enterprises, which sponsored Chipmunk-related sales. By 1963, some 15 companies were using or planned to use Alvin figures. By that year,Billboardmagazine estimated the total income from the Chipmunks' record sales (including overseas sales) and record club sales to be around $20 million (around $171 million adjusted for inflation to 2021 dollars).[30]

In the following years, the Chipmunks released several hit songs: "Alvin's Harmonica" (1959), "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" (1959), "Alvin's Orchestra" (1960), "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (1960), "The Alvin Twist" (1962), and the albumThe Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hitsin 1964 during theBritish Invasion.[16]

Bagdasarian then producedThe Alvin Show,a TV cartoon broadcast onCBSfrom October 1961 to September 1962.[15]

Personal life

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Bagdasarian married Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhan gian (1927–1991) in 1946.[2][b]They had three children: Carol Askine (b. 1947), an actress;Ross Jr.(b. 1949); and Adam Serak (b. 1954), a fiction writer.[2][31][17]They lived in Los Angeles from 1950.[20][16]As of 1963,he owned a grape ranchin California called the Chipmunk Ranch.[30]In the mid-1960s, he bought Sierra Wine Corp., a winery that supplied product, among others, toE & J Gallo Winery.[17]

Death and legacy

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Bagdasarian died of a heart attack at his home inBeverly Hillson January 16, 1972, eleven days before his 53rd birthday.[15][16]He was cremated and inurned at theChapel of the Pines Crematoryin Los Angeles.[42]

Bagdasarian willed the Chipmunks franchise to his wife and three children.[31]Ross Jr. said in an interview that he "worshipped" his father and felt a need to continue his work.[31]He resumed the franchise with his wifeJanice Karmanin the late 1970s, after finishing law school,[20]and became the complete owner when he bought the rights from his siblings in the mid-1990s.[17]

Discography

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Albums

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Filmography

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See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^abSometimes known asBagdasarian Sr.to distinguish from his son,Ross Bagdasarian Jr..He is listed asRoss S. Bagdasarianin the California Birth Index,[4]World War II Army Enlistment Records,[5]and in California Deaths and Burials.[6]
    William Saroyan,his cousin, gave his full name asSipon Rostom Bagdasarian.[7]Mark Arnoldgives it asRostom Sipan Bagdasarian.[8]
  2. ^She was widely referred to, including by Bagdasarian,[39]as "Armen".[31][40][41]
Citations
  1. ^Lapka, Larry."David Seville".AllMusic.Archived fromthe originalon August 7, 2020.
  2. ^abcArnold 2019,p. 25.
  3. ^Studwell, William E.(1996). "From" Jingle Bells "to" Jingle Bell Rock "".Music Reference Services Quarterly.5(1): 5.doi:10.1300/J116v05n01_01....for the pseudonym he used for the chipmunk enterprise, David Seville, is far better remembered than his real name.
  4. ^"California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, Ross S Bagdasarian, 27 Jan 1919; citing Fresno, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  5. ^"United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, Ross S Bagdasarian, enlisted 05 Jan 1942, Fresno, California, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov:National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
  6. ^"California Deaths and Burials, 1776-2000", database, Ross S. Bagdasarian.
  7. ^Saroyan, William(1979).Obituaries.Berkeley, California: Creative Arts Book Company. p.328.ISBN9780916870171....my cousin Sipon Rostom Bagdasarian...
  8. ^abcdArnold 2019,p. 13.
  9. ^abcdefgBronson, Fred (1997).The Billboard Book of Number One Hits.Billboard Books. p. 36.ISBN9780823076413.
  10. ^Smith, J. Y. (May 19, 1981)."William Saroyan Dies at 72".Washington Post.
  11. ^Studwell, William E.;Lonergan, David (2014).The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s.Routledge. p.177.ISBN9781317720683.
  12. ^Arnold 2019,p. 17.
  13. ^Our Boys Committee (1951).Armenian-American Veterans of World War II.New York:Armenian General Benevolent Unionof America. p.173.
  14. ^Blevins, Joe (November 10, 2015)."The Dark, Angry Father of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'".New York Magazine.Vulture. Archived fromthe originalon November 30, 2018.
  15. ^abcde"Ross Bagdasarian, Actor, Song Writer".The New York Times.Associated Press.January 19, 1972.
  16. ^abcdefghTalevski, Nick (2010). "David Seville".Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door.Omnibus Press.p.582.ISBN9780857121172.
  17. ^abcdPearson, Ryan (December 21, 2007)."Chipmunks legacy is a family affair".Los Angeles Times.Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on September 22, 2018.
  18. ^Holden, Stephen(May 9, 1986)."Pop/Jazz; Clooney and Bennett, Old-School Professionals".The New York Times.
  19. ^Tyler, Don (2008).Music of the Postwar Era.ABC-CLIO. p.60.ISBN9780313341915.
  20. ^abcdBentley, Rick (December 21, 2009)."Fresno native's chipmunks charm 3 generations".The Fresno Bee.Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2017.
  21. ^Gentry, Philip (2014)."Whiteness and Sex in the Music of Rosemary Clooney"(PDF).American Music Review.43(2). The H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music, Conservatory of Music,Brooklyn Collegeof theCity University of New York.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 23, 2020.
  22. ^Orozco, Ron (January 22, 2015)."Fresno Art Museum show marks 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide".The Fresno Bee.Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2017.
  23. ^Ross, Lillian;Gill, Brendan(September 8, 1951)."Everything A Song Ross".New Yorker.
  24. ^Lewis, Uncle Dave."Alfi & Harry".allmusic.AllMusic.Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2021.
  25. ^McClement, Ron (2001)."Ross Bagdasarian, a.k.a. David Seville".rockabilly.nl.BlackCat Rockabilly Europe. Archived fromthe originalon March 17, 2020.
  26. ^Kelly, Michael Bryan (1993).Liberty Records: A History of the Recording Company and Its Stars, 1955-1971.McFarland. p. 19.ISBN9780899507408.
  27. ^"The Top 100".Billboard.February 4, 1956. p.40.
  28. ^"The Trouble With Harry".officialcharts.The Official UK Charts Company.Archived fromthe originalon August 13, 2020.
  29. ^Drake, Howard."Armen's Theme By: David Seville".musicvf.Music VF. Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2021.
  30. ^abc"Alvin Plunges Into Side Lines".Billboard.April 6, 1963. p.16.
  31. ^abcdeDougherty, Steve; Tomashoff, Craig (February 22, 1993)."Squeak of Success".People.(archived)
  32. ^Adams, Cecil(January 17, 1986)."How were the high-pitched voices of the Chipmunks created?".Chicago Reader.The Straight Dope.(archived)
  33. ^Cox, Stephen (December 21, 2018).""The Chipmunk Song" Turns 60: Secrets of a Holiday Novelty Smash ".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedDecember 11,2021.
  34. ^Beck, Jerry(2005).The Animated Movie Guide.Chicago Review Press. p.53.
  35. ^"Today in 1959: First Grammy Awards handed out".Los Angeles Times.May 4, 2009.
  36. ^Dessem, Matthew (February 12, 2017)."A Look Back at the Most Legendary Grammy Wins of All Time".Slate.
  37. ^According to theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.Crump, William D. (2013).The Christmas Encyclopedia(3rd ed.). McFarland. p.71.ISBN9781476605739.
  38. ^Alexander, Shana(March 23, 1959). "Alvin! Composer's yells at son inspire another chipmunk hit".Life.pp.43-44.23 March 1959
  39. ^Arnold 2019,p. 18.
  40. ^Ryon, Ruth(May 1, 1994)."Arnolds Seek More Space".Los Angeles Times.Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2021.The home had been owned by the late Armen Bagdasarian, widow of songwriter Ross S. Bagdasarian Sr....
  41. ^Lee, Lawrence;Gifford, Barry(1998).Saroyan: A Biography.University of California Press.p. 250.ISBN9780520213999.At the second wedding, left to right, Ross and Armen Bagdasarian...
  42. ^Wilson, Scott (2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons(3rd ed.).McFarland.p.36.ISBN9781476625997.

Bibliography

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Business positions
Preceded by
Created
 President ofBagdasarian Productions
1961–1972 		Succeeded by
Owner ofAlvin and the Chipmunks
1958–1972
Preceded by
Created
 Voice of Dave Seville
1958–1972 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Created
 Voice of Alvin & The Chipmunks
1958–1972 		Succeeded by
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Preceded by
Created
 Voice of Alvin Seville
1958–1972 		Succeeded by
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Preceded by
Created
 Voice of Simon Seville
1958–1972 		Succeeded by
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Preceded by
Created
 Voice of Theodore Seville
1958–1972 		Succeeded by
Janice Karman
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