Every New Zealand #1 single…
5
The Twist by Chubby Checker
Topped the NZ chart for 2 weeks from 25 January 1962
Chubby Checker was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, largely because of a handful of dance-themed hits in the early 1960s. Let’s discuss his breakthough hit, ‘The Twist’.
Chubby Checker
Ernest Evans was born in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He grew up in the projects of South Philadelphia. He was friends with Fabian Forte in high school – Forte enjoyed hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s as Fabian.
Evans entertained Fresh Farm Poultry and Produce Market customers with his songs and jokes. His boss at the Produce Market nicknamed him Chubby, while the Fresh Farm Poultry owner organised a recording sesssion with Dick Clark. Clark’s wife suggested “Chubby Checker” as a homage to Fats Domino.
The Twist
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters first recorded ‘The Twist’ in 1958. Even though Ballard thought ‘The Twist’ would be a hit, it was relegated to the b-side of ‘Teardrops on Your Letter’.
‘The Twist’ became famous when it featured on a Baltimore television show. It was recommended to Dick Clark, and he attempted to book Ballard to perform on his show. When Ballard was unavailable, Clark turned to Checker, who had a similar voice. The song topped the US charts in 1960.
Dance songs became Chubby Checker’s specialty. He also had hits with ‘The Pony’, ‘Let’s Twist Again’, ‘Slow Twistin”, ‘Twistin’ USA’, ‘La Paloma Twist’, ‘Teach Me to Twist’, and ‘Twist It Up’. ‘The Twist’ also became a hit again in late 1961, topping the New Zealand chart in early 1962.
My verdict
Separated from the excitement of the dance craze, ‘The Twist’ is merely a serviceable R&B song. It’s delivered nicely by Checker and the raucous sax adds energy, but it’s unremarkable in the pantheon of #1 songs.
Somehow, Checker has maintained a successful career since ‘The Twist’. He was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, surely one of the Hall’s more trivial careers.
I don’t get the airplay that one in my position deserves. ’Twist and Shout’ gets more airplay than ’The Twist,’ and that’s not right.
Chubby Checker, 2004
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“The Twist,” which sounds like a remake of “Let’s Twist Again,” is a feelgood song. Is it the greatest ’60s song I’ve ever heard? Obviously no, but I think it’s a fun song that makes you want to move. Nothing more, nothing less.
He did ‘Let’s Twist Again’ after ‘The Twist’. I think the sequel is actually better. But he had a lot of songs about twisting!
Ha ha, that’s true! 🙂
He could have covered ‘Twisting by the Pool’.
I agree, it’s merely a “serviceable” song. It was a novelty song boosted by its association with a dance and the artist’s funny name. Loved it when I was 6 for those reasons only. “…(O)ne in my position deserves”? Wow. Trivial artist for a trivial hall of fame, in my estimation.
That quote’s pretty pompous, huh? Feels like he milked the hell out of one novelty song.
I’ve always thought Let’s Twist Again is way catchier than The Twist. One of the classic cases of the sequel being better than the original : )
Yeah, I think it’s better too (but it also feels like a shameless cash-in).
Chubby will forever be known as the singer who gave us ‘the twist ‘ in all its forms.
I can’t think of any artist who has so many hit songs with a shared word like that (not counting link works like “the” or “a”).
I simply never made that connection between Chubby Checker and Fats Domino…I see it so clearly now!! LOL!!
You’re not alone, John, as neither had I!
I didn’t pick that up either – it’s pretty blatant in hindsight.
This song ranked #1 on Billboard’s 100 Greatest Hits of All Time until 2021, when it was overtaken by The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”.
I didn’t know that – it’s interesting the two top songs only had relatively brief reigns at #1. ‘Smooth’ at #3 was top for 12 weeks.
I believe they rank so high due to the overall number of weeks they spent on the chart in total.
Yeah, I guess less time at number one might mean more time overall. Slow burners.
It’s his voice that makes it special to me. It’s instantly likeable. Never my favorite song, don’t get me wrong but it’s a song that still sounds good because of Checkers voice.
Yeah, the vocals (and the sax) are the best part. Still pretty dull for a 1960s ubiquitous hit though, I think.