Friday December 10, 2021 “The Twist” Chubby Checker (#2)
“The Twist” occupied the number one position on most previous Billboard Greatest Hits of All Time lists and why not it was released once in 1960 and then again in 1962 and both times it hit number one and sold over six million copies. But it has slipped to number two this time out.
And Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans) was literally forced to record the song because he said he hated it.
“The Twist” is the only song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to enjoy two separate chart runs to No. 1: September 19, 1960, and, after an October 1961 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” January 13, 1962. It also set a record for the most weeks (39) on the Hot 100 by a No. 1 song...sorry Glenn Miller.
“The Twist” became such an international dance craze that it inspired more than thirty Twist-related songs including: “Soul Twist”, “Twist & Shout”, “Bristol Twistin’ Annie”, “Peppermint Twist” and “Tequila Twist” just to name a few. And it inspired artists as varied as Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra,The Chipmunks, poet Rod McKeun, Petula Clark and even The Beatles to offer their own Twist ‘classics’.
This song was written by Hank Ballard, or maybe Nathaniel Bills but that’s a different longer story. Ballard was a man known for suggestive double entendres in his music and I'm pretty sure he wasn’t thinking about a new dance craze when he wrote what turned out to be a classic. And if you listen carefully to this version you will note that Mr. Checker’s lyrics include some very un-pc lyrical content, “c’mon little bitch, let’s do the twist”. Hey, it was the 60s.
Stay safe and well...and should there be anyone reading this who doesn’t know how to do this ’dance’ the video provides step by step directions...so let’s twist!