Chubby Checker
The Chubby Checker Greatest Hits Review is about his career as an American singer-songwriter. He was known for popularizing the “twist dance style” with his 1960 hit “The Twist”. He also popularized the Limbo Rock another dance that was a craze in the early 60’s. Chubby Checker in September, 2008, holds the title of the most popular singe “The Twist” on Billboard’s list of the most popular singles to have appeared on the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958. The list was updated in 2013, and he still holds the title as the most popular single.
His Early Years
Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans, on October 3, 1941, in Spring Gulley, South Carolina. His parents Raymond and Mrs. Eartle Evans and his two brothers lived in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By the age of eight, he formed a street-corner harmony group, and when he entered high school, took piano lessons. He would entertain his classmates performing vocal impressions of popular entertainers of the day like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino to name a few.
After school Evans would entertain customers at his various jobs, including Fresh Farm Poultry in the Italian Market on Ninth Street and at the Produce Market with songs and jokes. It was his boss at the Produce Market, Tony A., who gave Evans the nickname “Chubby”. The store owner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed by Ernest’s performances for the customers that he, along with his colleague and friend Kal Mann, who worked as a song-writer for Cameo-Parkway Records, arranged for young Chubby to do a private recording for American Bandstand host Dick Clark.
It was at this recording session that Evans got his stage name from Clark’s wife, who asked Evans what his name was. “Well”, he replied, “my friends call me ‘Chubby‘”. As he had just completed a Fats Domino impression, she smiled and said, “As in Checker?” That little play on words (‘chubby’ meaning ‘fat’, and ‘checkers’, like ‘dominoes’, being a game) got an instant laugh and stuck, and from then on, Evans would use the name “Chubby Checker”
Singing Career
Chubby Checker recorded a novelty song titled “The Class” in which he did impressions of various performers such as Fats Domino, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole, Ricky Nelson, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian Forte singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Clark sent the song out as his Christmas greeting, and it received such good response that Cameo-Parkway signed Checker to a recording contract. His single titled “The Class“, became his first release and reached #38 on the Hot 100 chart in 1959.
His next song to be released would be his most famous hit of all-time “The Twist” and he introduced his version of “The Twist” at the age of 18 in July 1960 in Wildwood, New Jersey at the Rainbow Club. This song became Chubby’s first #1 hit in 1960 and stayed on the top of the Hot 100 chart for one week. The song “The Twist” was released again in 1962, and hit number one again this time staying on top for two weeks. This is the only single on the Hot 100 to be released twice and hit #1. The other song “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby also hit #1 twice and that was prior to the Hot 100 chart debut in August, 1958.
In January, 1961, he released “Pony Time” and this became his third and last #1 hit and stayed on the top spot for 3 weeks. His next top ten charted single was “Let’s Twist Again” in June, 1961, and reached #8. He followed that single with “The Fly” which went to #7 in September, 1961. In 1962, Chubby released “Slow Twistin’” with Dee Dee Sharp and reached #3 in March 1962.
Then in September, of 1962, his recording of “Limbo Rock” reached #2 and brought many people dancing to this song. He followed this single with another top ten hit “Popeye The Hitchhiker” at #10 in 1962. This was also Chubby Checker’s last top ten hit on the charts.
He had other top twenty hits such as “Twenty Miles” #15, February 1962, “Let’s Limbo Some More” in February 1962, “Dancing Party” # 12 in June 1962, “Birdland” #12 in May 1963, “Loddy Lo” #12 in November 1963, and “Hooka Tooka” #17 in December of 1963. Chubby’s last Hot 100 single is “The Twist (Yo, Twist)” at #16 in June, 1988.
All told, Chubby Checker had 3 #1’s, 8 Top 10, 16 Top 20, 23 Top 40 hits. He also had 4 top ten albums. He charted a total of 38 singles on the Hot 100 chart with 3 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100. He is the #12 artist from 1960-1969 and #78 artist of all-time from 1955-2010 as ranked by Billboard.
Awards
Chubby Checker received the prestigious “Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award” on November 9, 2013 from the Artists Music Guild. The award was presented to him by his long-time friend Dee Dee Sharp. To date, this is his only award.
Top 10 & Number One Songs
The following is a complete listing of Chubby Checkers top ten and #1 songs in chronological order. The list will show the title, date, highest peak position #, and number of weeks at #1, #2, #3 in () with the #1 songs in bold.
- The Twist – September 19, 1960 #1 (1)
- Pony Time – February 27, 1961 #1 (3)
- Let’s Twist Again – June 18, 1961 #8
- The Fly – September 25, 1961 #7
- The Twist – January 13, 1962 #1 (2)
- Slow Twistin’ – March 3, 1962 #3 (1)
- Limbo Rock – September 8, 1962 #2 (2)
- Popeye The Hitchhiker – September 15, 1962 #10
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If you are a great fan of Chubby Checker I can highly recommend the following album as it contains all of his top ten and #1 hits on one album titled: Best of 1959-1963 24 Tracks
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