In 1960, Philadelphian Chubby Checker recorded a cover of a Hank Ballard song, “The Twist.” Ballard wrote the song in 1958; it was an up-tempo 12 bar blues that used a melody line he’d lifted from the group’s flop of the previous year, “Is Your Love For Real?” which he had in turn borrowed from McPhatter and the Drifter’s 1955 hit “What ‘Cha Gonna Do?” Unhappy at Federal, Ballard took the new tune to Vee-Jay Records, which cut it but didn’t release it. Then King, Federal’s parent label, picked up the group’s option and recorded “The Twist”, the first record to place Ballard’s name on the label in front of the group’s. It was issued, however, as the B side of the gospel-drenched Ballard ballad “Teardrops On Your Letter”.

In June of 1959, Chubby recorded “The Twist”. Bernie Lowe, president of Cameo Parkway records was not initially impressed with Chubby’s recording and felt it may be a “B” side at best. However, Chubby felt “The Twist” was something special and worked hard promoting the record by undertaking non-stop rounds of TV dates, interviews and live performances. Fourteen months later, in the summer of 1960, “The Twist” was a hit. It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19 in 1960, topping the chart for one week and returning to the top position on January 13, 1962, for two weeks. Explaining the dance to kids wanting to learn it proved simple enough: “It’s like putting out a cigarette with both feet, and wiping your bottom with a towel, to the beat of the music.” said a member of Checker’s entourage. It was the first major international rock and roll dance that didn’t involve contact between partners. This obscure B-Side generated lots of gyrating across the globe, from Latin America to The House of Windsor.

Related Links:
Chubby Checker dot com