It contains the A-sides of the Chipmunks' first three singles: "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", "Alvin's Harmonica" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe".

The artist credit on the original release was listed as Ross Bagdasarian (changed to “Alvin, Simon and Theodore with David Seville” on the revised 1961 cover).

The original issue of the album depicted three realistic looking chipmunks on the cover, with Alvin making a pose like the then-recently deceased Al Jolson.

When the album was reissued two years later, a new cover was substituted, that of an Alvin Show animation cel setup reenacting the poses the original chipmunks made, with the exception of Alvin, who was now shown as making a pose like Elvis Presley.

[2] All songs would later be adapted as animated musical segments for The Alvin Show.