Nutty Squirrels
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The Nutty Squirrels were a scat singing imitation of The Chipmunks that had a Top 40 hit in late 1959 with the song "Uh-Oh". The Squirrels actually preceded the Chipmunks on television in an animated cartoon, but with much less success.
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[edit] Biography
After the Chipmunks' initial success in 1958, plans were almost immediately made to make them into an animated cartoon series. Unfortunately, there were some initial art direction snags (specifically with the character designs) and the show was delayed. This gap resulted in a race between the Chipmunks and an imitative group created by jazz musicians Don Elliott and Alexander "Sascha" Burland, which they called the Nutty Squirrels.
Both musical groups featured the defining sped-up voices, but Ross's Chipmunks favored popular music while the Squirrels favored jazz. Ultimately, the Squirrels made it to television first (appearing in September 1960), but they were not as popular as the originals (at least partly because of the less popular nature of jazz music at that time) and quickly faded from view. The singing was more interesting and sophisticated, but it was not enough as the Chipmunks had such engaging personalities.
In 1976 Bob Milsap resurrected the act, at first with a novelty single based on citizens band radio followed by two albums. Due to legal reasons, his version of the creation went credited under the individual character names—Shirley and Squirrely. Time heals all wounds, as Ross Bagdasarian, Jr, even collaborated with Milsap, on the Nutty Squirrels' final album, Shirley, Squirrely and Melvin.
[edit] Personnel
- Don Elliott: vocals, trumpet, vibraphone, possible other instruments
- Alexander "Sascha" Burland: vocals
Among the New York based session musicians playing on these albums were Cannonball Adderley[1] (alto sax), Bobby Jaspar (flute), and Sam Most (clarinet)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1959 The Nutty Squirrels (Hanover)
- 1961 The Nutty Squirrels Go Bird Watching (Columbia CL-1859/CS-8389)
- 1964 The Nutty Squirrels Sing A Hard Day's Night and Other Smashes[2] (MGM SE-4272)
- as Shirley & Squirrely
- 1977 Hey Shirley!: The Album
- 1981 Shirley, Squirrely and Melvin (Excelsior)
[edit] Singles
- 1959 "Uh! Oh! Part 1"/"Uh! Oh! Part 2" (Hanover)
- 1976 "Hey Shirley (This Is Squirrely)" (GRT)
[edit] Trivia
- Known in South America as Las Ardillitas Locas, according to album notes on Go Bird Watching.
