Chubby Checker

American rock’n’roll vocalist, best known for popularizing the "Twist" (opens in a new tab) dance craze with his 1960 hit cover version of Hank Ballard’s R&B hit “The Twist”. Born October 3, 1941 in Spring Gulley, South Carolina. Rumor has it that Chubby Checker's name was a record label invention, a twist on the ever popular Fats Domino: Domino vs Checker, both game names, and Fats vs Chubby. He is known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song "The Twist", and the Pony, with his 1961 cover of the song "Pony Time". His biggest UK hit, "Let's Twist Again", was released one year later (in 1962). That same year, Checker also popularized the song "Limbo Rock", a previous-year instrumental hit by the Champs to which he added lyrics and its trademark Limbo dance. He also introduced other dance styles, such as the Fly. In September 2008, "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1960, an honor it maintained in an August 2013 update of the list. In 2014, Checker was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, where he met music manager Howard Perl and was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. (Note: Many “greatest hits” LPs and CDs released after 1981 do not contain the original Parkway recordings, but newer versions re-recorded probably around 1980, see list (opens in a new tab).)