He was making novelty records in the late '50s when he bought a tape recorder that allowed him to vary tape speed and released the song "Witch Doctor ... chipmunks Simon, Theodore, and Alvin ...

From there, he came up with the idea of the Chipmunks, three happy-go-lucky singing rodents. Taking the name David Seville, Bagdasarian released the novelty single “The Witch Doctor,” which ...