Song:Witch Doctor
Album:Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection: The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time
Most folks know David Seville as the father figure on Chipmunks records. But before The Chipmunks, he had some other hits including this number one hit in 1958. David Seville was the stage name for Ross Bagdasarian. He was born Jan. 27, 1919 in Fresno, CA. His cousin was the famous playwright William Saroyan and the two wrote the 1951 Rosemary Clooney hit Come on-a My House. Bagdasarian appeared in films. That's him playing the piano in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. He started doing novelty song tie-ins for films like The Trouble With Harry and The Proud and the Profane. Then he bought a tape recorder and started messing around with recording at different speeds. Witch Doctor was the result and it topped the pop charts in 1958. Of course not long afterwards, he created The Chipmunks and the rest is history. He even had The Chipmunks do a version of Witch Doctor. This Dr. Demento 2CD comp is probably the best way to get most novelty songs. Ross Bagdasarian died of a heart attack Jan. 16, 1972 at age 52. His son Ross Bagdasarian Jr. still produces The Chipmunks. Here's David Seville performing Witch Doctor on Ed Sullivan 1958.
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