Righting Recording References
Jeff Missinne of Superior, WI shared his musical knowledge with us:
There were a couple bloopers committed during this week’s quiz on nonsense lyrics. Re “Da Doo Ron Ron,” one of your panelists had the answer right (was it Carolyn? I’m not sure now) when she said the song was recorded by the Crystals, but was called off her answer by Barry, who insisted it was the Shirelles. The Shirelles did have a minor hit with a somewhat similar song, “I Met Him On A Sunday, Ron-De, Ron-De,” but as far as I know never even recorded “Da Doo Ron Ron.”
The other answer was Murray’s, I believe, who was correct in identifying David Seville as the artist on “Witch Doctor.” This record actually pre-dated the introduction of the Chipmunks (in “The Chipmunk Song/Christmas, Don’t Be Late”) by about nine months; and was credited on the label as “The Music of David Seville.” (You can find plenty of shots of that label online.) Both songs were written by Seville under his real name, Ross Bagdasarian. “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” referred to by Barry, applies more to the 1980’s-present records made by his son Ross, Jr. (David Seville died in 1972.)