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Chubby Checker was the unrivaled king of the rock & roll dance craze; although most of the dances his records promoted -- the Pony, "the Fly," and the Hucklebuck, to cite just three -- have long since faded into obscurity, his most famous hit, "The Twist," remains the yardstick against which all subsequent dancefloor phenomena are measured. Born Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941, in Spring Gulley, South Carolina, he worked in a local poultry shop while in high school, and while on the job often entertained customers by singing and cracking jokes. His workplace antics helped win an audition with the local Cameo-Parkway label, who signed the fledgling singer in 1959; at the suggestion of no less than Dick Clark's wife, the portly youth was re-christened Chubby Checker, the name a sly reference to Fats Domino.
Checker's first single, "The Class," showcased his skills as an impressionist; while the record became a minor novelty hit, none of its immediate follow-ups were successful. In 1960, however, he recorded "The Twist," a cover of a 1958 Hank Ballard & the Midnighters B-side; Checker's rendition de-emphasized the original's overtly sexual overtones, focusing instead on the song's happy-go-lucky charms. The single rocketed to number one during the autumn of 1960, remaining on the charts for four months; some time after it dropped off, it slowly returned to prominence, and in late 1961 it hit number one again; the only record ever to enjoy two stays at the top more than a year apart. After "The Twist" first made Checker a superstar, he returned to the top in 1961 with "Do the Pony"; that same year, he also reached the Top Ten with "Let's Twist Again," which assured the dance's passage from novelty to institution.
In addition to 1961's "The Fly," Checker's other Top Ten hits included three 1962 smashes: "Slow Twistin'," "Limbo Rock," and "Popeye the Hitchhiker." He even starred in a pair of feature films, Twist Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Twist. In total, Checker notched 32 chart hits before the bubble burst in 1966; as interest in dance novelties dwindled, he briefly turned to folk music, and became a regular on the nightclub circuit. From the 1970s onward, he was a staple of oldies revival tours; in 1982, more than a decade after his last studio LP, he signed with MCA and issued the disco-inspired The Change Has Come, scoring a pair of minor hits with the singles "Running" and "Harder Than Diamond." In 1988, Checker returned to the Top 40 for the first time in a quarter century when he appeared on the Fat Boys' rap rendition of "The Twist," and he continued touring regularly throughout the decade to follow.
-- by Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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01. Blueberry Hill 02. Your Feet�s Too Big 03. Hound Dog 04. Twist Train 05. Mr. Twister 06. Whole Lotta Shakin� Goin� On |
07. Hold Tight 08. Shake Rattle And Roll 09. But Girls 10. At The Hop 11. Dance With Me Henry 12. Rock Around The Clock |
01. Twistin� USA 02. Ooh Poo Pah Doo Shimmy 03. CC Rider Stroll 04. Strand 05. Chicken 06. Hucklebuck |
07. Twist 08. Madison 09. Love Is Strange Calypso 10. Mexican Hat Twist 11. Slop 12. Pony |
01. Pony Time 02. Watusi 03. Hully Gully 04. Stroll 05. Mashed Potatoes 06. Hi Ho Silver |
07. We Like Birdland 08. Let�s Dance Let�s Dance Let�s Dance 09. Shimmy 10. Charleston 11. Dance The Mess Around 12. Pony Express |
01. I Could Have Danced All Night 02. Jet 03. Continental Walk 04. I Almost Lost My Mind 05. Fishin� 06. Quarter To Three |
07. Let�s Twist Again 08. Ballin� The Jack 09. Peanut Butter 10. Ray Charles-Ton 11. Takes Two To Tango 12. Dance-A-Long |
01. The Twist 02. Rock Around The Clock 03. Blueberry Hill 04. Whole Lotta Shakin� Goin� On 05. Ballin� The Jack 06. Twistin� USA |
07. Let�s Twist Again 08. Hound Dog 09. Mexican Hat Twist 10. The Hucklebuck 11. Mister Twister 12. I Could Have Danced All Night |
01. Twistin� Round The World 02. Let�s Twist 03. Hava Nagela 04. Twist Mit Mir 05. Never On Sunday 06. Twist Marie |
07. Let�s Twist Again 08. Twistin� Matilda 09. O Sole Mio 10. Tea For Two 11. Alouette 12. Misirlou |
01. Lose Your Inhibitions Twist 02. Peppermint Twist 03. Your Lips And Mine 04. Slow Twistin� 05. Fly 06. Shout |
07. Twist-A-Long 08. Love Is Like A Twist 09. Runaround Sue 10. Twistin� The Blues 11. Dear Lady Twist 12. Twistin� Bones |
01. Down To Earth 02. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis 03. Play It Fair 04. What A Combination 05. I Really Don�t Want To Know 06. Let The Good Times Roll |
07. Do You Love Me 08. Pledging My Love 09. One More Time 10. Loving You 11. Make Love To Me 12. Hello Baby Goodbye |
01. La Limbo 02. Mary Ann Limbo 03. Man Smart, Woman Smarter 04. Baby, Come Back 05. Somebody Bad Stole The Wedding Bell 06. The Bossa Nova |
07. Limbo Rock 08. When The Saints Go Limbo In 09. Jamaica Farewell 10. Banana Boat Limbo Song 11. Desafinado (slightly out of tune) 12. La Bamba |
01. Twist It Up 02. Kansas City 03. Rip It Up 04. Soul Twistin� 05. Don�t Let Go 06. Twist |
07. Don�t You Just Know It 08. I�m Walkin� 09. Johnny B. Goode 10. Let�s Twist Again 11. Maybellene 12. Hi-Ho Silver |
01. Let�s Limbo Some More 02. How Low Can You Go 03. Manana 04. Cindy Oh Cindy 05. Girl With The Swingin� Derriere 06. Peanut Vendor |
07. Twenty Miles Limbo 08. Mother Goose Limbo 09. Run Chico Run 10. Rim And Coca Cola 11. Lotta Limbo 12. Mama Look-A Boo Boo |
01. Surf Party 02. The Killer 03. Oo-Kook-A-Boo 04. We�re Goin� Surfin� 05. Limbo Side By Side 06. Twist It Up |
07. Birdland 08. Nothin� But The Twist 09. Mashed Potato Love 10. She Said 11. She�s A Hippy 12. Let�s Surf Again |
01. Absurd Bird 02. Rockin� Chair 03. Like A Wheel A-Turning (in my heart) 04. Sweet And Heavenly 05. Time After Time 06. Old Time Religion |
07. Fever 08. Georgia On My Mind 09. Everything�s Gonna Be Alright 10. Yes Indeed 11. On Broadway 12. I�m On My Way |
01. Go Tell My Baby 02. Hey Bobba Needle 03. Dodang 04. Ole Anna 05. Everybody Loves Saturday Night 06. Ah Si Mon Moine |
07. Loddy Lo 08. Sippin� Cider Through A Straw 09. Tzena Tzena 10. 6-0-9 11. Hooka Tooka 12. Doncha Get Tired |
01. Dancin� Party 02. Whole Lotta Shakin� Goin� On 03. Fly 04. Hully Gully Baby 05. Jet 06. Wah-Watusi 07. She Wants To Swim 08. Hucklebuck 09. Let�s Dance Let�s Dance Let�s Dance 10. Slow Twistin� 11. Run Chico Run 12. Gravy (for my mashed potatoes) 13. Fishin� 14. Hava Nagela 15. Bossa Nova 16. Hi-Ho Silver |
17. Dance-A-Long 18. Lose Your Inhibitions Twist 19. Popeye (the hitchhiker) 20. Mashed Potato Time 21. Shimmy 22. Toot 23. Limbo Rock 24. Pony Time 25. Let�s Twist Again 26. Bristol Stomp 27. La Limbo 28. Mexican Hat Dance 29. Mess Around 30. Mashed Potato Love 31. Ray Charles-Ton 32. Twist |
01. Running 02. I�ve Got Love (that�s hard to find) 03. Harder Than Diamond 04. Run To Me 05. Under My Thumb |
06. Burn Up The Night 07. Rock It To Me Rudy 08. Your Love 09. Don�t Be Afraid It�s Only Rock & Roll 10. T-82 |
01. Knock Down 02. Dust 03. I Wanna Be Married To You 04. Take It Up 05. Heavenly Feeling |
06. Be Careful 07. Twistasize 08. A Little Bit Of This 09. Something Serious 10. Feel So Good |
01. The Twist 02. Honky Tonk Girls 03. Rowdy Country Boys (like me) 04. You�re Just What I Needed 05. Slide Up Closer 06. From Here �Til Eternity |
07. The Texas Twist 08. The Other Side Of Nashville 09. That�s What It Takes 10. Run to Me 11. Take Me Back To Oklahoma 12. Slow Twistin� |
01. Dust 02. Something Strenuous 03. A Little Bit Of This 04. Take It Up 05. Knocked Down |
06. Be Careful 07. Locked Inside 08. Twistasize 09. I Wanna Be Married To You 10. Feel So Good |
01. Twist And Shout 02. The Fly 03. My Magic Girl 04. I Saw Her Standing There 05. Pony Time 06. Slow Lovin� (slow twistin�) 07. Blueberry Hill 08. Peppermint Twist |
09. Take Me Back To Oklahoma 10. Kansas City 11. Dancing Party 12. I�m The Man 13. Let�s Twist Again 14. The Twist 15. Treat Me Nice 16. Whole Lotta Shakin� Goin� On |
01. Let�s Twist Again 02. Limbo Rock 03. Twenty Miles 04. Pony Time 05. Slow Twistin� 06. Let�s Limbo Some More 07. Popeye (the hitchhiker) |
08. The Hucklebuck 09. Dance The Mess Around 10. The Twist 11. The Fly 12. Let�s Do The Freddie 13. Twist It Up 14. Dancin� Party |