Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated television series featuring the Chipmunks.  The group features three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks, Alvin (the mischievous troublemaker and leader), Simon (the tall intellectual one), and Theodore (the chubby, impressionable one).  Creator, Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., did all of the group’s voices by speeding up the playback to create high-pitched voices.  In the show, the trio of chipmunks is managed by David Seville, their human adoptive father.

On this day, October 4, in 1961, when the Chipmunks became a success, they were offered their own TV show on CBS.  It was the first show to feature the singing characters and lasted one season in prime time.  It was initially telecast in black and white but later produced in color after the show entered syndication.