May 3, 1958 –
David Seville’s (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.) novelty single, Witch Doctor, unexpected went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. Bagdasarian was first cousin to the novelist and playwright William Saroyan.
Seville got the vocal effect by recording his voice into a tape recorder that was slowed to half speed and then playing it back at normal speed. Witch Doctor was his first song to use the technique, and at that point there were no “Chipmunks.” (The squeaky voice was the witch doctor and had no physical form – Seville hadn’t created the characters yet and used his own name for the recording).
The Haus of Dcaligari 