1958 Surprise Smash Song, Which Saved a Record Company From Bankruptcy, Became a Hit 68 Years Ago

Ross Bagdasarian, who used the stage name David Seville, is most famous for creating the cartoon band, Alvin and the Chipmunks. He also performed on Broadway and appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window as a pianist. But one of his earliest accomplishments was writing and performing the hit novelty song, "Witch Doctor," which became a Billboard No. 1 single 68 years ago today. It went on to sell 1.5 million copies.

The song was inspired by a book that was sitting on Bagdasarian's shelf, called Duel with a Witch Doctor. Bagdasarian created the tune with the help of a $200 tape recorder, which was a large amount of money at that time. He recorded his voice at different speeds in order to create the high-pitched voice for the witch doctor to create the illusion of singing a duet with someone else. This was the same technique he would ultimately use to create songs for Alvin and The Chipmunks. The method was also imitated by other artists, such as Sheb Wooley, who created "The Purple People Eater."

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Liberty Records released "Witch Doctor" in 1958, back when the company was struggling. They were close to bankruptcy when Bagdasarian released this surprise hit, which Billboard ranked as the No. 4 song for all of 1958.

As Black Gold Brooklyn reported, "With Liberty hinging on bankruptcy, [Bagdasarian] had successfully convinced the execs to allocate the remaining vinyl pucks and labels in the warehouse to pressing his new record ‘Witch Doctor.' The song was an enormous number one hit and rescued the company."

Since its release, the song has appeared in many different films and television shows, including The Rugrats Movie and The Muppet Show. However, it gained the most popularity when covers were released from Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Bagdasarian created many more songs throughout the course of his career. Another huge hit, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," was released in November 1958 and topped the Billboard charts by New Year's Day. It also won three Grammy awards at the very first Grammy ceremony.

Bagdasarian died of a heart attack in his California home in January 1972 at the age of 52.

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 5:24 AM.