Chubby's Twist: The Twister

“The Twist” by Chubby Checker was the first song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on two different occasions. And, for many years, it was the biggest-selling single in U.S. recording history.

The song reached the top of the Hot 100 on Sept. 19, 1960 — 65 years ago next Friday.

First, It Was A Moderate Hit For Hank Ballard

The first thing you should know about “The Twist” is that it wasn’t actually Chubby Checker’s song. “The Twist was recorded and released in 1958 as the B-side of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ single ”Teardrops on Your Letter.”

Ballard’s version was released again as an A-side in 1960 and it would peak at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“People think Chubby wrote it, but they’re wrong,” Ballard told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. “They call Chubby the father of ‘The Twist,’ but he’s just the stepfather. I’m the father. It’s my baby.”

But even that isn’t totally accurate. In the 1910s, Black songwriters had begun writing songs in which they instruct dancers to move in sexy, suggestive ways. In 1928, a jazz group in Harlem recorded a song they called “The Twister” about a dance move.

In the late 1950s, a gospel group called the Sensational Nightingales wrote a song that went “Come on baby, let’s do the twist.” They realized that, as a spiritual group, they couldn’t do much with it. So, in 1957, they gave the song to Ballard.

That year, radio DJ Dick Clark’s local Philadelphia-based teenage dance party TV show went national on ABC. Clark wanted to put “The Twist” on his show but he was also aware Ballard was already known for edgy, sexually-suggestive songs. He wondered if he could find someone else to record it.

Hank Ballard and his group's version of "The Twist." Sourced from King's Records.

...And Then It Became A Supersized Hit For Chubby Checker

Clark thought of a talented young singer he had met named Ernest Evans. Evans was born in South Carolina but had moved to Philadelphia and, at age 16, worked in a chicken packing plant.

The owner of the plant loved Evans’ singing voice and would turn the plant’s sound system over to Evans and allow him to entertain the other workers by imitating famous singers.

At one point, the plant owner had Evans record “Jingle Bells” while imitating Fats Domino, Elvis Presley and the Chipmunks. The owner’s wife decided Evans needed a new stage name, so — playing off Fats Domino — she called Evans “Chubby Checker.” The name stuck.

Clark had heard this recording and was impressed. He called in Checker and asked if he could also imitate Ballard’s performance on “The Twist.” Checker could and did.

Clark’s people had a local Philadelphia band record the backing track for “The Twist.” Not only did Checker sing the lead — very close to the way Ballard had done it — he even came up with a little dance move to go with it. He figured he’d need it if he was to perform the song in front of a live audience.

Photo sourced from WFIL-TV

Chubby Checker showing Dick Clark how to do "THe Twist" on Clark's Saturday evening "Dick CLark Show" on Aug. 6, 1960

Instead of putting him on his Saturday afternoon “American Bandstand,” Clark featured Checker and “The Twist” on his Saturday evening “Dick Clark Show” on Aug. 6, 1960. Checker even tried to teach Clark how to do the Twist. It’s “like putting out a cigarette with both feet, or like coming out of a shower and wiping your butt with a towel,” he said.

The song was released on Parkway Records and quickly became a hit. On September 19, “The Twist” landed in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there one week. It would regain popularity at the end of 1961 and again hit No. 1 — this time remaining there for two weeks.

Ballard said he was floating in a swimming pool in Hallandale, Florida, when her first heard Checker’s version on a transistor radio. “At first I thought it was me,” he said. “It sounded like me ...”

Ballard didn’t complain too much about Checker re-recording his song: He raked in plenty of royalty checks as the credited composer of the song.

Checker would go on to record other songs about other dances. “Pony Time” would occupy the top spot in the singles chart for three weeks in 1961. He’d score a No. 2 hit with “Limbo Rock” in August 1962.

In 2020, Checker’s version of “The Twist” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Billboard named “The Twist” as the most successful single in the history of its charts. It would keep that title until 2021, when it was dethroned by “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd.

Checker Revisited 'The Twist' Time and Time Again

In addition to his songs about other dance fads of the early 1960s, Checker would sing “The Twist” or sequels to his biggest hit over the next few years. Here are some of the ones that charted:

Let's Twist Again, Peak: #8, Aug. 7, 1961

Checker’s first attempt to keep “The Twist” craze going was an even bigger hit in the U.K. than in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 there in the spring of 1962. It would win a Grammy for Best Rock & Roll Recording.

Twistin' U.S.A, Peak: #68, Dec. 18, 1961

This was the B-side of Checker’s 1961 rerelease of “The Twist.”. The song was a 1960 hit for Danny and the Juniors and included a list of cities where young people were said to be enjoying the dance move.

The Twist, Peak: #1, Jan. 13, 1962

In late 1961, Parkway records rereleased “The Twist.” This time, it spent two weeks at No. 1 after being boosted by Checker singing it on “The Ed Sullivan Show” along with “Let’s Twist Again.”

La Paloma Twist, Peak: #72, March 24, 1962

This was the B-Side to Checker’s “Slow Twistin’.”

The song is a twist on the traditional 19th century Spanish folk song “La Paloma” by Sebastián Iradier: “Ah, let’s Twist to the pretty melody of the dove ...” (Bop-ba-da-bop)

Slow Twistin', Peak: #3, April 14, 1962

She’s not credited on Checker’s single, but Dee Dee Sharp sang with Checker on this song. Checker returned the favor by singing a version of this same song with different lyrics on her album, also in 1962.

Twist It Up, Peak: #25, Aug. 24, 1963

The second release from Checker’s eighth album in two years, “Twist It Up” peaked at No. 21 in the U.K. Co-writer Kal Mann had also written “Limbo Rock,” “Let's Twist Again” and the Elvis Presley hit, “Teddy Bear.”