Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song "The Twist", and the pony dance style with the 1961 cover of the song "Pony Time". His biggest UK hit, "Let's Twist Again", was released one year later (in 1962); that year, he also popularized the song "Limbo Rock", originally a previous-year instrumental hit by the Champs to which he added lyrics, and its trademark Limbo dance, as well as other dance styles such as The Fly. 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 1960, an honor it maintained in an August 2013 update of the list.[1]
Checker was born Ernest Evans in Spring Gully, South Carolina.[2] He was raised in the projects of South Philadelphia, where he lived with his parents, Raymond and Eartle Evans,[3] and two brothers.[4] By age eleven, Evans formed a street-corner harmony group. By the time he entered high school, Ernest had learned to play the piano a little at Settlement Music School. He entertained his classmates by performing vocal impressions of popular entertainers of the day, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Fats Domino.[5] One of his classmates and friends at South Philadelphia High School was Fabian Forte, who would become a popular performer of the late 1950s and early 1960s as Fabian.[4]
After school Evans would entertain customers at his various jobs, including Fresh Farm Poultry in the Italian Market on Ninth Street and at the Produce Market, with songs and jokes. It was his boss at the Produce Market, "Anthony Tambone grandfather of Gregory Tambone owner of Bone Tactical , who gave Evans the nickname "Chubby". The owner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed by the boy's performances for the customers that he, along with his colleague and friend Kal Mann, who worked as a songwriter for Cameo-Parkway Records,[6] arranged for young Chubby to do a private recording for American Bandstand host Dick Clark. After hearing Chubby's Fats Domino impression, Clark's wife Barbara suggested that Chubby be called "Chubby Checker" in homage to Fats Domino.[7][8]
Career
1950s–1960s
In December 1958, Checker privately recorded a novelty single for Clark in which the singer portrayed a school teacher with an unruly classroom of musical performers. The premise allowed Checker to imitate such acts as Fats Domino, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole, and The Chipmunks, each singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Clark sent the song out as his Christmas greeting, and it received such good response that Cameo-Parkway signed Checker to a recording contract.[9] Titled "The Class", the single became Checker's first release, charting at No. 38 in the spring of 1959.[10]
Checker introduced his version of "The Twist" at the age of 18 in July 1960 in Wildwood, New Jersey at the Rainbow Club. "The Twist" went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 not just once in 1960, but yet again in a separate chart run in late 1961. The first success was attributed to teens, and the unprecedented second number-one Billboard ranking was driven by older audiences following a spirited live performance[11] of the song by Checker on The Ed Sullivan Show, seen by over 10 million viewers.[12] (Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" had also achieved number one twice on Billboard's earlier chart.)
"The Twist" had previously peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart, in the 1959 version recorded by its author, Hank Ballard, whose band The Midnighters first performed the dance on stage. Checker's "Twist", however, was a nationwide smash, aided by his many appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, the top 10 American Bandstand ranking of the song, and the teenagers on the show who enjoyed dancing the Twist. The song was so ubiquitous that Checker felt that his critics thought he could only succeed as a dance demonstrator. Checker later lamented: ""The Twist" really ruined my life. I was on my way to becoming a big nightclub performer, and "The Twist" just wiped it out... It got so out of proportion. No one ever believes I have talent."[13] By 1965 alone, "The Twist" had sold over 15 million copies, and was awarded multiple gold discs by the RIAA.[14]
"The Twist" was recorded for Cameo-Parkway Records and along with the label's other material, became unavailable after the early 1970s because of the company's internal legal disputes. For decades, almost all compilations of Checker's hits consisted of re-recordings. The 1970s saw a shift and resurgence for his career, including a temporary stint as a disco artist. Checker continued to be a superstar in Europe with television and records.[citation needed] A dance-floor cover version of the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." released in 1969 on Buddah Records, his first chart entry in three years, reached No. 82.[16] It was Checker's last chart appearance until 1982 when he hit No. 91 with "Running".[10]
Chubby Checker during a TV interview in 2008
In 1971, Checker at his own insistence recorded a psychedelic album filled with music he felt was "current" that was initially only released in Europe. Originally named Chequered!, it was renamed over the years in subsequent re-releases as New Revelation, The Other Side Of Chubby Checker, and sometimes as Chubby Checker. The songs were all written by Checker and produced by former Jimi Hendrix producer Ed Chalpin,[17] but the studio musicians' names are unknown. The album flopped.[18] Later in the decade, he recorded an album of "audiophile re-creations" of his greatest hits, for producer Stan Shulman.
In 1988, Chubby teamed up with hip-hop trio The Fat Boys with their version of The Twist (Yo, Twist): this reached No 2 in the UK.
2000s and beyond
Checker had a single at No. 1 on Billboard's dance chart in July 2008 with "Knock Down the Walls". The single also made the top 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[10]Roger Filgate of Wishbone Ash is featured on lead guitar.[19]
In 2009, Checker recorded a public service announcement (PSA) for the Social Security Administration to help launch a new campaign to promote recent changes in Medicare law.[20] In the PSA, Checker encourages Americans on Medicare to apply for Extra Help, "A new 'twist' in the law makes it easier than ever to save on your prescription drug plan costs."[21][22]
On February 25, 2013, Checker released a new single, the ballad "Changes," via iTunes; it was posted on YouTube and amassed over 160,000 views.[23] "Changes" was produced by the hill & hifi and reached 43 on the Mediabase Top 100 AC Chart and 41 on the Gospel Chart. Checker performed it on July 5, 2013, on NBC's Today show.[24] In 2015, Checker joined forces with Howard Perl Entertainment[25] to produce live events, such as "Rock and Roll to The Rescue",[26] a tour designed to raise funds for rescue animals in need nationwide.
Controversies
In 2002, Checker protested outside of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, over the lack of radio airplay of his hit "The Twist" and his perception that the Hall of Fame had snubbed him. Seymour Stein, president of the Rock Hall's New York chapter and member of the nomination committee, claimed "I think that Chubby is someone who will be considered. He has in certain years."[27]
In 2013, Checker sued HP over a WebOS application using his name. The application, before being pulled in September 2012, was used to unscientifically estimate penis size from shoe size.[28][29][30][31] The district court said that Checker's trademark claim survived HP's motion to dismiss, but his other claims were dismissed per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.[32]
Film and musical depictions
Checker performed as well as appeared as a version of himself in Twist Around the Clock (1961) and Don't Knock the Twist (1962). In both films he provided advice and crucial breaks for the protagonist.[33][34]
In 1988, Checker appeared as himself performing alongside the Purple People Eater in the film of the same name.[35]
Checker later appeared as himself in the 1989 Quantum Leap episode entitled "Good Morning, Peoria" where he walks into a radio station in 1959 hoping to have his demo record played on the air. The show's main character, Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), persuades the station owner to play the song "The Twist", inadvertently teaching Checker himself how to do The Twist.[36]
In 2008, Checker's "The Twist" was named the biggest chart hit of all time by Billboard magazine. Billboard looked at all singles that made the charts between 1958 and 2008. He was also honored by Settlement Music School as part of the school's centennial celebration and named to the Settlement 100, a list of notable people connected to the school.[39]
Checker received the prestigious Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award on November 9, 2013, from the Artists Music Guild. Checker was the host of the 2013 AMG Heritage Awards and was given the honor during the television broadcast. The award was presented to him by longtime friend and labelmate Dee Dee Sharp.[40]
On December 12, 1963, Checker proposed to Catharina Lodders, a 21-year-old Dutch model and Miss World 1962 from Haarlem.[41] Checker said he met Lodders in Manila the prior January.[42] The song "Loddy Lo" is about her. They were married on April 12, 1964, at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken, New Jersey.[43] Their first child, Bianca Johanna Evans, was born in a Philadelphia hospital on December 8, 1966.[44] Their other two children are Ilka Evans and musician Shan Egan (Evans), lead singer of Funk Church, a band in the Philadelphia area.[45] Checker is also the father of WNBA player Mistie Bass.[46]
Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. P.O. Box 200, Menomonee Falls WI: Record Research Inc. 1988. ISBN0-89820-069-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
Hank Ballard was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an integral part in the development of the genre, releasing the hit singles "Work with Me, Annie" and answer songs "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fannie" with his Midnighters. He later wrote and originally recorded "The Twist" which was notably covered a year later by Chubby Checker, this second version spreading the popularity of the dance. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken, but none was as popular.
The Marcels were an American doo-wop group known for turning popular music songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and signed to Colpix Records with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss. The group was named after a popular hair style of the day, the marcel wave, by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla.
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by The Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers for their album Twist & Shout in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
Gene Chandler is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful songs, "Duke of Earl" and "Groovy Situation", and his association with the Dukays, the Impressions, and Curtis Mayfield.
The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, and Darren "Buff Love" Robinson.
"Bristol Stomp" is a song written in 1961 by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, two executives with the Cameo-Parkway record label, for The Dovells, a doo-wop singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who recorded it for Cameo-Parkway late that year. Appell also produced and arranged the track and his Cameo-Parkway's house band served as the studio musicians.
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.
"Peppermint Twist" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961. Capitalizing on the Twist dance craze and the nightclub in which Dee performed, the song hit No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in early 1962. The original recording of the song was considered too long for release on a 45 rpm single, so it was split into two parts. It was this first part, "Peppermint Twist ", with a length of 2:03, which became the No.1 hit; the mostly instrumental second half of the recording is rarely heard today.
"Jingle Bell Rock" is an American Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then, and is generally considered Helms' signature song. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe, although both Helms and session guitarist on the song Hank Garland disputed this. Beal was a Massachusetts-born public relations professional and longtime resident of South Ocean Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Boothe was an American writer in the advertising business.
"The Twist" is an American pop song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to "Teardrops on Your Letter". It was inspired by the twist dance craze. Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. On the US Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, the original version of "The Twist" first peaked at number 16 in 1959 and at number six in 1960. By 1962, the record sold in excess of one million copies, becoming Ballard's fourth million seller.
"Never on Sunday", also known by its original Greek title "Ta Pediá tou Pireá", is a song written by Manos Hatzidakis and first sung by Melina Mercouri in the film of the same name, directed by Jules Dassin and starring Mercouri. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1960, a first for a foreign-language picture. The film score was first released on 1 October 1960 by United Artists Records.
The Midnighters were an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan. They were an influential group in the 1950s and early 1960s, with many R&B hit records. They were also notable for launching the career of lead singer Hank Ballard and the worldwide dance craze the twist. Between 1953 and 1962, the Midnighters had several hits on the U.S. pop and R&B charts. Their hits included the million-selling Billboard top 10 pop hits "Finger Poppin' Time", and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go". The Midnighters also had 13 top 10 R&B hits, including three that reached number 1. Their top 10 R&B hits included "Work with Me, Annie", "It's Love Baby ", "Annie Had a Baby", "The Hoochi Coochi Coo", "Teardrops on Your Letter", "Get It", "The Float" and "Nothing but Good". They received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award in 1992 and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. The Midnighters are also noted for achieving a music industry milestone in 1960, by becoming the first group in history to place 3 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. The group's lead singer, Hank Ballard, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The Midnighters as a group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2012.
"Into the Night" is a song by American pop rock singer Benny Mardones from his album Never Run, Never Hide. Inspired by an impoverished family Mardones met during the writing of the album, the lead single became a two-time top 20 hit and a signature tune in Mardones' catalogue.
"Let's Twist Again" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, and released as a single by Chubby Checker. One of the biggest hit singles of 1961, it reached No.8 on the U.S. Billboard pop chart in August of that year and subsequently reached No.2 in the UK in the spring of 1962. The song refers to the Twist dance craze and Checker's 1960 single "The Twist", a two-time U.S. No.1 single.
"Limbo Rock" is a popular song about limbo dancing written by Kal Mann and Billy Strange. An instrumental version was first recorded by The Champs in 1961. The first vocal version was recorded in 1962 by Chubby Checker : it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and at number one on the Cash Box charts. The Chubby Checker recording also made it to number three on the R&B charts. In Canada it reached number 7 for 2 weeks co-charting with the B-side.
"The Hucklebuck" is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy Alfred. The song became a crossover hit and a dance craze, in many ways foreshadowing the popular success of rock and roll a few years later. It was successfully recorded by many other musicians including Lucky Millinder, Roy Milton, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Chubby Checker, Bo Diddley, Otis Redding, Quincy Jones, Canned Heat, Coast to Coast, Brendan Bowyer and Crystal Swing.
"The Class" is 1959 novelty song by American rock and roll recording artist Chubby Checker. It peaked number thirty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was his first entry on the chart. In the song, Checker plays a music teacher who asks his class for their homework, which are variations of Mary Had a Little Lamb. The musicians imitated are Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole, and the Chipmunks.
"The Stroll" is a song written by Nancy Lee and Clyde Otis and performed by The Diamonds. It reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #4 on the U.S. pop chart, and #5 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1958.
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