The Nutty Squirrels

Alvin & the Chipmunks may have done it first, but when it came to cartoon-pop rodents, nobody did it better than the Nutty Squirrels. The brainchild of jazz vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Don Elliott and jingle composer Alexander "Sascha" Burland, the Nutty Squirrels employed the same sped-up vocal playback techniques as Ross Bagdasarian's Chipmunks, but added to the mix a far stronger musical approach, a sharper, hipper sense of humor, and the studio support of jazz greats including saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. And though the Chipmunks beat their many rivals in the ra...