The Twist by Chubby Checker

About

“The Twist” was originally written by Hank Ballard and released by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters in 1959 as the flipside to their single “Teardrops On My Letter”. “Teardrops” was a minor hit, but “Twist” was even more successful – reaching the top 30. It attracted the attention of Dick Clark, the host of TV’s popular American Bandstand, who asked Ballard to perform it on the show but he turned it down. Clark then turned to Checker, who was known for his ability to imitate other performers (with “The Class” being a prime example where he imitates Elvis, The Coasters and Fats Domino) to perform the song instead – and that version topped the pop chart, making “The Twist” the hottest dance in the nation for several years and spawning a number of imitations like the chart-topping “Peppermint Twist”. Checker rode the success of “The Twist” by releasing the Grammy-winning follow-up “Let’s Twist Again” in 1961 and “Slow Twistin'” in 1962. More songs with dance themes followed, including “The Mess Around”, “The Hucklebuck”, “Limbo Rock” and “The Fly.” In 1988, The Fat Boys teamed up with Checker to release a rock/rap hybrid of “The Twist (Yo Twist)” that introduced the dance to a new generation. It reached #1 in Germany, #2 in the UK and #16 in the US – riding the wave of success established by Run DMC’s groundbreaking rap-rock collaboration with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way”. As of 2018, through Beatlemania, disco, the king of pop Michael Jackson, boy bands, alternative rock, and viral dance hits of the new millennium like “Harlem Shake” and “Gangnam Style”, “The Twist” remains Billboard’s biggest song of all time – maintaining its crown for six decades. The song is featured on several “best of” lists, including a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock, the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry and induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.