Chubby Checker harnessed the explosion of youth culture in rock & roll’s early years, combining the power of records, radio, television, and movies to engage a worldwide audience. The undisputed king of 1960s rock & roll dance crazes, Chubby Checker inspired millions to shake it all night long to hits like “The Twist,” “The Fly,” “The Hucklebuck,” “The Pony,” and “Limbo Rock.”  

Born Ernest Evans in Spring Gully, South Carolina, his family soon moved to Philadelphia where he began singing vocal harmony on the street corner and learning piano at the Settlement Music School. He had an amazing ability to mimic the vocal styles of other singers – a skill that earned him his first single, “The Class,” where he imitated the sounds of Fats Domino, the Coasters, and Elvis Presley. The song caught the attention of American Bandstand host Dick Clark, whose wife Barbara was so impressed by Evans’ Fats Domino impression that she suggested the similarly styled stage name Chubby Checker. 

Checker signed to the legendary Cameo-Parkway label and recorded a version of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ 1958 B side “The Twist.” The song became a hit and a massive cultural phenomenon. On August 6, 1960, Checker appeared for the first time on American Bandstand, unleashing the dance move that would soon sweep the nation – and the crowd went wild. The song hit Number One in 1960 and again in 1961, earning it the title of Billboard’s most successful single of all time. From Main Street to the White House, suddenly everyone was doing “The Twist.” 

Checker charted 32 hits between 1960 and 1966, starring in two films – 1961’s Twist Around the Clock and 1962’s Don’t Knock the Twist – that showcased his fluid dance moves and ability to inspire others to dance. He experimented in later years with folk music, psychedelic rock, and disco. In 1988, the hip-hop group Fat Boys returned Checker to the Top Forty by recording a rap version of “The Twist.”