On December 1, 1958, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" was released. It sold millions of copies and went to #1 that Christmas season, and proved to be popular every year since then. The success of the song was a triumph for Ross Bagdasarian, who not only write and produced the song, but sang all the parts, too. What's more, he owned the song, the publishing rights, and the master tapes, which was rare for musicians at the time. "The Chipmunk Song" led to more songs, and a TV series starring Bagdasarian as Dave Seville, the guardian of three talking chipmunks and their licensing rights. Bagdasarian also had three children, who inherited all that when Bagdasarian died in 1972 at only 53 years of age.
Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. also inherited his father's media instincts. He continued the legacy of the Chipmunks, and bought out his brother and sister in the 1990s. The senior Bagdasarian had relinquished the rights to the master recording of the Christmas song to his record company, but the family retained publishing and product licensing rights. Simon, Theodore, and Alvin have appeared in numerous TV series, comic books, and four live-action movies, not to mention the toys and other branded products. The Chipmunks have sold millions of records, and "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" was streamed 10.4 million times in December of 2022 alone. This is all very lucrative for Ross Jr. and his wife Janice Karman, who run Bagdasarian Productions. But what does Ross think when he hears that song every Christmas?
Honestly, I am so thrilled every time, because it brings back my dad. I get to hear his voice.
Read about the empire that one Christmas song started at Billboard. -via Metafilter