"Alvin for President" is a non-album single by the fictional musical group,
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
. The song was released as a single in 1960 and was the group's last chart entry on the ''Billboard''
Pop Singles Chart
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...
. This recording used the same music bed as another song, "I Wish I Could Speak French". The song was eventually adapted as a musical sequence on ''
The Alvin Show
''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 1961, ...
'' the following year.
Chart performance
After the success of The Chipmunks' previous four singles, which had all reached the Top 40, it was hoped that "Alvin for President" would do the same. Instead, the single reached No. 95 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles Chart, their first single not to reach the Top 40. It was the group's last chart entry not only on the Pop Singles Chart (later known as Billboard Hot 100), but on any of the ''Billboard'' charts until 1992, where their rendition of "
Achy Breaky Heart
Achy may refer to:
* Suffering from pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associate ...
", a song originally sung by
Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...
, peaked at No. 72 on ''Billboard''
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
.
In popular culture
The song caught the attention of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
who, during the 1960 presidential campaign, commented in a note to Bagdasarian that "I'm glad to know that I have at least one worthy opponent." He was not referring to
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
.
[Setoodeh R]
"Revenge of the rodent: At 50, Alvin and the Chipmunks have never been cuter—-or bigger"
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
,'' 24 November 2008 (Accessed 3 November 2009).
See also
*
Lists of fictional presidents of the United States
Lists of fictional presidents of the United States are alphabetical lists of people who have been portrayed in fiction as the president of the United States. Media include novels and short stories, comics, plays, movies and television shows. The r ...
References
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Alvin and the Chipmunks songs
1960 songs
1960 singles
Songs written by Ross Bagdasarian