Witch Doctor (song)

"Witch Doctor" is a 1958 American novelty song written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, under his stage name David Seville. It became a number one hit and rescued Liberty Records from near-bankruptcy.[1]

"Witch Doctor"
Single by Ross Bagdasarian
from the album The Alvin Show
B-side"Don't Whistle at Me, Baby"
ReleasedApril 1, 1958 (1958-04-01)
RecordedJanuary 1, 1958 (1958-01-01)
Genre
Length2:15
LabelLiberty
Songwriter(s)Ross Bagdasarian
Producer(s)Ross Bagdasarian
Ross Bagdasarian singles chronology
"Witch Doctor"
(1958)		 "The Bird on My Head"
(1958)

Background and composition

The song tells the story of a man in love with a woman who initially does not return his affections. Longing for her companionship, the man goes to see a witch doctor for advice. The wise Witch Doctor replies, "oo ee oo aa aa, ting, tang, walla walla bing bang" (a phrase which is repeated three times as the chorus of the song). In the middle of the song, the man tells the woman he loves about his asking the Witch Doctor for advice.

The voice of the "Witch Doctor" was in fact Bagdasarian's own voice sped-up to double speed, a technique later exploited by Bagdasarian to create Alvin and the Chipmunks (and which he had also used on at least one other pre-Chipmunk song, "The Bird on My Head"). Because of this, it is often referred to as the first song by the Chipmunks; this is not precisely true. For one, only one sped-up "chipmunk-style" voice is featured rather than three such voices singing in harmony. Furthermore, Bagdasarian (as Seville) insisted that it was not technically a Chipmunks song. In a second version from the 1960 Chipmunks album Sing Again with The Chipmunks (which was later re-released in a musical segment of an episode of The Alvin Show), when he says to the Chipmunks (when they request to sing the song) "I don't know, fellas, I made that record once!", to which Alvin responds "Yeah, but not with us! Come on!" The first song to truly be by the "group" was "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)."

Chart performance

The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100, the predecessor to the Billboard Hot 100. The single was considered a major surprise hit on the chart, where it became Seville's first No. 1 single and stayed in the position for three weeks. The single also peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and on the Cash Box chart as well. The single sold over one million copies in the United States. Billboard ranked it as the No. 4 song for 1958.[2]

Alvin and the Chipmunks versions

The song has gained further popularity due to multiple covers performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks. The first was for their 1960 album Sing Again with The Chipmunks, which would later be adapted into a musical segment on The Alvin Show. In 1983, they would perform this song on the Alvin and the Chipmunks episode "The Chipmunk Story" and the soundtrack Songs From Our TV Shows. The song was used for the opening of the 1990 TV special Rockin' Through the Decades in the style of various artists. In 1996, a dance mix cover was recorded for the album Club Chipmunk: The Dance Mixes. In 2007, a DeeTown cover (featuring Chris Classic) was recorded for the live-action/CGI Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. In 2012, they released a duet cover with The Chipettes entitled "Witch Doctor 2.0" available for digital download on the iTunes Store (although iTunes only credits The Chipmunks).

Covers

The first cover version was recorded in 1958 by the British musician Don Lang and made the UK Top 10.

Mexican actor and comedian Manuel Valdés performed an alternative version of the song in the 1958 movie Dos fantasmas y una muchacha. Titled "El Médico Brujo", in the number, Valdez switches between costumes of characters from different parts of the world, the song contains a mixture of words in different languages, mainly spanish.

A sequel of sorts, "Witch Doctor Bump", by funk band the Chubukos, including Chipmunk-style novelty voices, appeared in the Record World charts in late 1973, rising as high as No. 117 in a 10-week chart stay.

Marvin Suggs and his Muppaphone performed the song on an episode of The Muppet Show.

A version performed by Devo was in The Rugrats Movie as part of an animated sequence.

Sha Na Na released an audio version of this famous novelty Halloween song in 1997. It appears on their album, "Greatest Hits". A re-recorded version of this song also appears twice on separate albums starting off with 1. The 2004 album, "Halloween Party - 16 Scary Songs" and 2. The 2006 album, "Halloween Fun For Kids". Jon Bauerman or Bowzer for short sings each verse at a time while the backup singers singing as Alvin & The Chipmunks follow along with him. It's part of the compilation album, "Monster Mash Rock 'n Roll Halloween Party" which was released in 2000. It approximately appears in the track listing before "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley AKA Track 5 which is professionally referred to as Track 4.

Cartoons version
"Witch Doctor"
Single by Cartoons
from the album Toonage
ReleasedOctober 26, 1998 (1998-10-26)[3]
Recorded1998
GenreEurodance, novelty
Label
Songwriter(s)Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.
Producer(s)Cartoons
Cartoons singles chronology
"DooDah!"
(1998)		 "Witch Doctor"
(1998)		 "Yoko"
(1998)
Music video
"Witch Doctor" on YouTube

Another version of the song was by the Danish band Cartoons, on their 1998 debut album Toonage. Their version charted well in Europe, reaching the top forty in many countries, as well as peaking at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. A Spanish and an Italian version both appear on the album Toontastic, while an Italian version also appears on the album More Toonage.

The Cartoons' cover was also featured in the Dancemania compilation series and Dance Dance Revolution game series, starting with DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix.

Track listings
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Witch Doctor" (radio mix)3:05
2."Witch Doctor" (extended mix)4:14
3."Witch Doctor" (Out of Africa remix)5:09

Weekly charts
Chart (1998–1999) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 9
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[5] 11
France (SNEP)[6] 22
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 68
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 31
Scotland (OCC)[11] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 13
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1999) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 74
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 87
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 51
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 27

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Platinum 600,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "HOW DAVID SEVILLE AND THE WITCH DOCTOR RESCUED LIBERTY RECORDS" (Black Gold (October 11, 2017)
  2. "Number One Song of the Year: 1946–2014". Bob Borst's Home of Pop Culture.
  3. Date of release
  4. "Ultratop.be – Cartoons – Witch Doctor" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  5. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 15. April 11, 1999. p. 8. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  6. "Lescharts.com – Cartoons – Witch Doctor" (in French). Les classement single.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Cartoons – Witch Doctor". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 25, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Cartoons – Witch Doctor" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  10. "Charts.nz – Cartoons – Witch Doctor". Top 40 Singles.
  11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 March 1999.
  12. "Swedishcharts.com – Cartoons – Witch Doctor". Singles Top 100.
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 March 1999.
  14. "Jaaroverzichten 1999". Ultratop. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  15. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1999". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  16. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1999". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  17. "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. January 22, 2000. p. 27.
  18. "British single certifications – Cartoons – Witch Doctor". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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