On August 5th, 1960, Chubby Checker made an appearance on ‘American Bandstand’ and performed his new song ‘The Twist.’ The dance craze captivated the crowd, and Chubby Checker became a household name. Do you remember dancing ‘The Twist’?
Chubby walks out on stage and starts to jump and snap as he sings. The ‘American Bandstand’ crowd claps along with him. Then, he gets to the song’s chorus, and the crowd gets on their feet.
They begin to do the twist with him. He plays off their energy and moves a lot while singing. The crowd sings with him and twists like Chubby. He sings the lyrics, ‘Yeah, you should see my little sis. You should see my, my little sis. She really knows how to rock. She knows how to twist.’
Towards the end, he jumps and snaps as he walks off stage, and the crowd cheers loudly for him. The performance gives Chubby Checker instant notoriety as the song begins to climb the charts.
Just a few short months later, Chubby’s version of the song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. ‘The Twist’ was previously released in 1958 by ‘Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.’ Their version peaked at number 28.
Billboard magazine dubbed ‘The Twist’ the biggest hit of the 1960s. The song created a star, and America has loved Chubby Checker ever since. Born Ernest Evans, Chubby had success with ‘The Twist,’ ‘Pony Time,’ and ‘Let’s Twist Again.’
Chubby also had success with his version of ‘Limbo Rock.’ An American singing legend, Chubby popularized dance crazes during the 60s. His high-energy performances and catchy songs catapulted him to stardom.
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