The Nutty Squirrels were a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose members are not depicted as corporeal musicians, but anima ...

formed in imitation of

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 ...

. The Nutty Squirrels' music was characterized by their use of

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

. They received a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

hit in late-1959 as the song "Uh! Oh!". They also preceded

The Alvin Show ''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 196 ...

in which they appeared on television in 1960 as '' The Nutty Squirrels Present'', but the show's success was rather decreased. The group's first two albums, '' The Nutty Squirrels'' and ''

Bird Watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

'', were released in 1959. The Nutty Squirrels' final album, ''The Nutty Squirrels Sing A Hard Day's Night and Other Smashes'', marked a stylistic change from their first two albums, featuring covers of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

songs.

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

musicians

Don Elliott Don Elliott Helfman (October 21, 1926 – July 5, 1984) was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career. Career Elliott played ...

and Granville Burland, which they called the Nutty Squirrels. Both musical groups featured the defining sped-up voices, but Ross Bagdasarian Sr.'s Chipmunks favored popular music while the Squirrels favored

, particularly of the

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrum ...

variety. Ultimately, the Squirrels made it to television first, in the animated series '' The Nutty Squirrels Present'' (appearing in September 1960), but its popularity was decreased as of the originals. "Uh! Oh! (Part 1)" peaked at #45 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, while "Uh! Oh! (Part 2)" peaked at #14. In the 2007 live-action/animated movie ''

'', during the credits, Ian Hawke (

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitc ...

) is trying to get three squirrels to sing.

Personnel

* Don Elliott: vocals, trumpet, vibraphone, possible other instruments * Granville Alexander "Sascha" Burland: vocals Among the New York-based

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s playing on these albums were

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", wh ...

, (

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

), Bobby Jaspar ( flute), and

Sam Most Samuel Most (December 16, 1930 – June 13, 2013) was an American jazz flutist, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, based in Los Angeles. He was "probably the first great jazz flutist", according to jazz historian Leonard Feather. Biography He ...

( clarinet)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Reception

In his 2019 autobiography, ''Mr. Know-It-All'',

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

wrote, "I should have told my mother about the Nutty Squirrels. They did jazz and they ''weren't'' junkies. This sped-up vocal group who imitated the Chipmunks actually beat them to television with an animated show called '' The Nutty Squirrels Present'', and they looked down on the pop sound of Alvin and his gang. The Nutty Squirrels actually had a big jazz hit with "Uh Oh, Part One and Two," but if you go back and listen to the rest of their discography, you'll be blown away by some of their other riffs. These cats were smoking! If my mom had heard jazz like this at the wrong speed, she might have loved it."

References

External links

Podcast - includes samples of the Nutty SquirrelsLinks to mp3s of Nutty Squirrels/Cannonball Adderley session and a slowed-down Elliott scat solo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutty Squirrels, The Animated musical groups Fictional squirrels Fictional musical groups RCA Victor artists Musical groups established in 1959 Musical groups disestablished in 1964 1959 establishments in the United States American jazz ensembles Vocal jazz ensembles