Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker
born Ernest Evans
Born October 3, 1941
An American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist". In September 2008 "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.

Born:

Ernest Evans, October 3, 1941, Philadelphia, PA

Genres:

Rock and Roll, R&B, Pop, Folk

Instruments:

Vocals

Contributions to music:

• His 1961 hit "The Twist" remains the biggest-selling American dance-craze record of all time
• Popularized several famous 1960s dances, including the Pony, the Fly, and the Limbo
• A gifted vocalist whose 1959 hit "The Class" found him successfully imitating several popular artists
• Carved out a marginally successful second career as a folk artist in the mid-Sixties
• "The Twist" is the only recording to hit Number One in two separate years (1960 and 1962)

Early years:

A natural jokester and musician, young Ernest Evans made quite an impression on the streets of Philly, so much so that his boss, meat shop owner Henry Colt, soon convinced a music industry vet to recommend him to local impresario to Dick Clark. The result was a 1959 Christmas novelty single called "The Class," which took advantage of the kid's natural ability to imitate any vocalist. Clark's wife, Bobbie, asked him what his name was, and after he said the kids called him Chubby, she came up with his stage name on the spot, a play on Fats Domino (who Chubby also imitated). "The Class" was a Top 40 hit.

Success:

Checker's real break came the next year, however, when Hank Ballard and the Midnighters failed to honor an appearance on American Bandstand. Clark looked around for someone to cover the group's hit "The Twist," and Checker obligingly stepped in, knocking out the vocal over a pre-recorded backing track in 35 minutes. The song shot to Number One with Clark's promotion, and the dance craze it described -- which encouraged boys and girls, for the first time, to dance separately from one another -- changed the teen climate forever, a fad of huge and (relatively long-lasting) proportions.

Later years:

A second wave of popularity at New York's famed Peppermint Lounge brought the record back to #1 two years later, but by the mid-Sixties dance music had gotten funkier, prompting a brief renaissance for Chubby as a folk singer. Although he's since resuscitated the song (and his other hit dance-craze followups) in disco and rap versions, even trying his hand at country, Checker these days mainly plays to his original admirers, touring the oldies circuit and making several outrageous appeals to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for inclusion. (Hank Ballard was inducted way back in 1990.)

Other facts:

• Went to school in Philly with Fabian Forte, who would later become famous as Fabian
• During the first year of his success, "Chubby" lost 30 pounds by twisting at public appearances
• Married to former Miss World Catharina Lodders since 1964
• Daughter Mistie Williams plays basketball for Duke University
• Headlined the halftime show at Super Bowl XXII
• Has a street named after him in North Wildwood, NJ
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Awards/Honors:

• GRAMMY Award (1961)
• South Philly Walk of Fame (1997)

Recorded work:

#1 hits:
Pop:

• "The Twist" (1960, 1962)
• "Pony Time" (1961)

R&B:

• "Pony Time" (1961)

Top 10 hits:
Pop:

• "Let's Twist Again" (1961)
• "The Fly" (1958)
• "Limbo Rock" (1962)
• "Popeye (The Hitchhiker)" (1962)
• "Slow Twistin'" (1962)

R&B:

• "The Twist" (1960, 1962)
• "Limbo Rock" (1962)
• "Slow Twistin'" (1962)

Top 10 albums:
Pop:

• Bobby Rydell/Chubby Checker (1962)
• For Twisters Only (1962)
• Twist With Chubby Checker (1962)
• Your Twist Party (1962)

Other popular recordings: "The Class," "Hoot," "The Hucklebuck," "Dance The Mess Around," "Twistin' U.S.A.," "Dancin' Party," "Birdland," "Let's Limbo Some More," "Hooka Tooka," "Loddy Lo," "Surf Party," "Twenty Miles," "Twist It Up," "Twistin' Round The World," "Hey, Bobba Needle"

Covered by: Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass, Showaddywaddy, Klaus Nomi, The Fat Boys
Appears in the movies: "The Teenage Millionaire" (1961), "Twist Around the Clock" (1961), "It's Trad, Dad!" (1962), "Don't Knock the Twist" (1962), "Rote Lippen Soll Man Küssen" (1983), Let The Good Times Roll" (1973), "Purple People Eater" (1988), "Twist" (1992), "Calendar Girl" (1993), "Wildwood Days" (2005)