| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
Urban Chipmunk was the first country album by Alvin and the Chipmunks, released on February 4, 1981. The title parodies the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.
Track listing
Original 1981 release
| No. | Title | Original Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (John Denver) | John Denver | 1:43 |
| 2. | "The Gambler" (Don Schlitz) | Bobby Bare | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Lunchbox (feat. Jerry Reed)" (Albert Bouchard, Mike Diamond Sr.) | Jerry Reed | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" (Chips Moman, Bobby Emmons) | Waylon Jennings | 3:05 |
| 5. | "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (feat. Larry Butler)" (Larry Butler, Chips Moman) | B. J. Thomas | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Original Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Love a Rainy Night" (David Malloy, Eddie Rabbitt, Even Stevens) | Eddie Rabbitt | 3:06 |
| 2. | "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be | Ed Bruce | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Coward of the County" (Roger Bowling, Billy Edd Wheeler) | Kenny Rogers | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Made For Each Other (feat. Brenda Lee)" (Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Larry Butler, Bruce Pinkard) | original song | 5:28 |
| 5. | "On the Road Again" (Willie Nelson) | Willie Nelson | 2:30 |
Urban Chipmunk was released on CD in 1993. For this release, the songs "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" and "Made For Each Other" were deleted and replaced with new songs "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and "Boot Scootin' Boogie". In addition, "I Love a Rainy Night" was retitled "I Love a Rainy Night (Saturday Morning Remix)" with new dialogue added. The cover art was also modified to feature the current character redesign.
1993 CD remaster
| No. | Title | Original Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Charlie Daniels, Tom Crain, "Taz" DiGregorio, Fred Edwards, Charles Hayward, James W. Marshall) | The Charlie Daniels Band | 4:05 |
| 2. | "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be | Ed Bruce | 3:15 |
| 3. | "The Gambler" (Don Schlitz) | Bobby Bare | 3:13 |
| 4. | "Lunchbox (feat. Jerry Reed)" (Albert Bouchard, Mike Diamond Sr.) | Jerry Reed | 3:10 |
| 5. | "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" (Larry Butler, Chips Moman) | B. J. Thomas | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Boot Scootin' Boogie" (Ronnie Dunn) | Brooks & Dunn | 3:11 |
| 7. | "I Love a Rainy Night (Saturday Morning Remix)" (David Malloy, Eddie Rabbitt, Even Stevens) | Eddie Rabbitt | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Coward of the County" (Roger Bowling, Billy Edd Wheeler) | Kenny Rogers | 3:57 |
| 9. | "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (John Denver) | John Denver | 1:43 |
| 10. | "On the Road Again" (Willie Nelson) | Willie Nelson | 2:30 |
Charts and certifications
Despite mixed reviews, the album ended up earning a Gold certification from the RIAA, the Chipmunks' second Gold album following 1980's Chipmunk Punk.
On the Billboard Top LPs chart, the record peaked at No. 56, while on the country chart, it reached No. 23.
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 56 |
Personnel
- Ross Bagdasarian Jr. — lead vocals (Alvin, Simon, David Seville)
- Janice Karman — lead vocals (Theodore)
- Buzz Cason — background vocals
- Bergen White — background vocals
- Dennis Wilson — background vocals
- Bob ”King” Moore — lead electric guitars
- Jerry Carrigan — acoustic and rhythm electric guitars
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins — pedal steel guitars and piano
- Ray Edenton — bass
- Billy Sanford — fiddle
- Jimmy Capps — percussion
- Leon Rhodes — drums
- Buddy Spicher — auxiliary percussion
Production crew
- Ross Bagdasarian Jr — producer
- Janice Karman — producer
- Larry Butler — producer
- Billy Sherill — engineer
- Dain & DeJoy — album coordination
- Rick Detorie — art direction and illustrations
- David Foster — project consultant
- John Boylan — project consultant
References
- ^ discogs.com "Lunchbox"/"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Chipmunks" single
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Urban Chipmunk at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 June 2020.