Tag Archives: Jim Henson

Battle of the Bands Christmas Edition!

Posted on by
32

battle-of-the-bands-botb-top-photo

‘Tis the season to be jolly and merry so I thought I’d have a little fun with today’s battle.
I’m pitting Christmas favorite Jingle Bell Rock featuring the Muppets against the beloved Chipmunks and their fun Christmas song.

And in this battle, the videos count in your decision. Which song and which video makes you smile more?

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday spirit this time of year. And hope you enjoy both my battle picks:

Contender #1:  Muppets Christmas – Jingle Bell Rock:

“Jingle Bell Rock” was performed by the Muppets band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem on A Muppet Family Christmas, a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson’s Muppets. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the special was first broadcast on December 16, 1987 on ABC. Kermit and his friends spend Christmas staging a surprise visit to Fozzie Bear’s mother’s farm.

Here’s Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem performing Jingle Bell Rock:

 

 Contender #2: Chipmunks Christmas Song – “Christmas Don’t Be Late”:

“The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” is a novelty Christmas song written by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (a.k.a. David Seville) in 1958. Although it was written and sung by Bagdasarian (in the form of a high-pitched chipmunk voice), the singing credits are given to The Chipmunks, a fictitious singing group consisting of three chipmunks by the names of Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The song won three Grammy Awards in 1958: Best Comedy Performance, Best Children’s Recording, and Best Engineered Record (non-classical).

Picture sleeve of 1959 reissue by Liberty Records

Picture sleeve of 1959 reissue by Liberty Records

The song was very successful, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, becoming The Chipmunks’ first (and only), as well as David Seville’s second and final, No. 1 single. It has the distinction of being the only Christmas record to reach No. 1 on the same chart. The single sold 4.5 million copies in seven weeks, according to Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Ironically, before the song’s success, “The Chipmunk Song” was featured on American Bandstand’s “Rate-A-Record” segment and received the lowest possible rating of 35 across the board.

“The Chipmunk Song” is the last Christmas/holiday song to reach No. 1 on any US singles record chart totaling performance of all available records. (Source: Wikipedia).

Who knew??! Here’s Christmas Don’t Be Late by the Chipmunks: from the 2007 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks:

 

Time to vote! Which song/video did you like best? Let me know and tell me why you chose the way you did. Then when you’re done voting here, go visit the other BOTB participants and check out their cool battles: