''Urban Chipmunk'' was the first

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

album by

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 ...

, released on February 4,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. The title parodies the 1980 movie ''

Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...

''.

Track listing

Original 1981 release

''Urban Chipmunk'' was released on CD in 1993. For this release, the songs "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" and "Made For Each Other" were deleted and replaced with new songs "

The Devil Went Down to Georgia "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''. The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic ...

" and "

Boot Scootin' Boogie "Boot Scootin' Boogie" is a song first recorded by the band Asleep at the Wheel for their 1990 album, ''Keepin' Me Up Nights''. American country music duo Brooks & Dunn recorded a cover version, which was included on their 1991 debut album, ''Bra ...

". In addition, "I Love a Rainy Night" was retitled "I Love a Rainy Night (Saturday Morning Remix)" with new dialogue added. The cover art was also modified to feature the current character redesign.

1993 CD remaster

Charts and certifications

Despite mixed reviews, the album ended up earning a

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

certification from the RIAA, the Chipmunks' second Gold album following 1980's ''

Chipmunk Punk ''Chipmunk Punk'' is an album by the Chipmunks, as well as being the first album released by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., after he took over the voices of the Chipmunks after the death of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., his father in 1972. Despite the title of ...

''. On the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top LPs The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

chart, the record peaked at No. 56, while on the country chart, it reached No. 23.

Personnel

* Ross Bagdasarian Jr. — lead vocals (Alvin, Simon, David Seville) *

Janice Karman Janice Felice Karman is an American actress, producer, writer, and director. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Early life Karman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was psycholog ...

— lead vocals (Theodore) *

Buzz Cason James E. "Buzz" Cason (born November 27, 1939 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States) is an American rock singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. He was a founding member of The Casuals, Nashville's first rock and roll band. Together w ...

— background vocals * Bergen White — background vocals * Dennis Wilson — background vocals * Bob ”King” Moore — bass *

Jerry Carrigan Jerry Kirby Carrigan (September 13, 1943 – June 22, 2019) was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over ...

— drums *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

— pedal steel guitars * Rick Carlson – keyboards and piano * Ray Edenton — rhythm guitars * Billy Sanford — auxiliary percussion * Jimmy Capps — rhythm guitars *

Leon Rhodes Leon Rhodes (March 10, 1932 – December 9, 2017) was an American country music musician. A guitarist, he primarily played behind Ernest Tubb as part of the Texas Troubadours and later was a house band member for the television programs '' Grand ...

— lead guitar *

Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...

— fiddle

Production crew

* Ross Bagdasarian Jr — producer * Janice Karman — producer * Larry Butler — producer * Billy Sherill — engineer * Dain & DeJoy — album coordination * Rick Detorie — art direction and illustrations *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

— project consultant * John Boylan — project consultant

References

{{Authority control Alvin and the Chipmunks albums 1981 albums Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer)