Chubby Checker
The man who popularized the Twist and countless dance crazes.
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Ernest Evans, known to the world as Chubby Checker, was born on October 3, 1941, in Spring Gully, South Carolina, and grew up in the projects of South Philadelphia with his parents and two brothers. He formed a street-corner harmony group at age 11, learned piano at Settlement Music School, and entertained classmates with impressions of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino.
A classmate at South Philadelphia High School was Fabian Forte, later known as Fabian. After school, Evans worked at Fresh Farm Poultry and the Produce Market, where his boss Anthony Tambone nicknamed him "Chubby." Impressed by his performances, Fresh Farm Poultry owner Henry Colt and songwriter Kal Mann arranged a private recording for Dick Clark. After hearing his Fats Domino impression, Clark's wife Barbara suggested the stage name "Chubby Checker" as a tribute.
1950s–1960s
In December 1958, Checker recorded a novelty single for Clark, impersonating Fats Domino, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole, and The Chipmunks singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Clark sent it as a Christmas greeting, and the strong response led Cameo-Parkway to sign Checker. His first release, "The Class," reached No. 38 in spring 1959. At age 18, in July 1960, Checker introduced his version of "The Twist" at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 twice—first in 1960, driven by teens, and again in late 1961, driven by older audiences after a live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show seen by over 10 million viewers.
(Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" had also achieved two number ones on an earlier Billboard chart.) Hank Ballard's original 1959 version had peaked at No. 16 on the R&B chart. Checker's "Twist" became a nationwide smash, aided by appearances on American Bandstand, but Checker later lamented that the song "ruined my life," as critics saw him only as a dance demonstrator. By 1965, "The Twist" had sold over 15 million copies and earned multiple gold discs.
Checker followed with dance hits like "The Hucklebuck" (No. 14), "The Fly" (No. 7), "Dance the Mess Around" (No. 24), and "Pony Time," his second No. 1. "Let's Twist Again" won the 1962 Grammy for Best Rock and Roll Recording. A 1962 duet with Dee Dee Sharp, "Slow Twistin'," reached No. 3.
Other hits included "Dancin' Party," "Popeye the Hitchhiker," "Twenty Miles," "Birdland," "Loddy Lo," and a Christmas duet with Bobby Rydell, "Jingle Bell Rock." "Limbo Rock" reached No. 2 in December 1962, becoming his last top 10 hit. He continued with top 40 singles until 1965, ending with "Let's Do the Freddie" (No. 40). The British Invasion and counterculture era ended his hit-making run, and he spent much of the late 1960s touring and recording in Europe.
Awards
After Cameo-Parkway's legal disputes made "The Twist" and other original recordings unavailable for decades, Checker's compilations relied on re-recordings. The 1970s brought a shift, including a stint as a disco artist. In September 2008, "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular Hot 100 singles since 1960, a position it kept in an August 2013 update. Checker was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014 and selected for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.
Lore & Background
Checker was born Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941, in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He was raised in the projects of South Philadelphia, where he lived with his parents, Raymond and Eartle Evans, and two brothers. By age 11, Evans formed a street-corner harmony group, and by the time he entered high school, Ernest had learned to play the piano a little at Settlement Music School.
He entertained his classmates by performing vocal impressions of popular entertainers of the day, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. One of his classmates and friends at South Philadelphia High School was Fabian Forte, who would become a popular performer of the late 1950s and early 1960s as Fabian. 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, Anthony Tambone, who gave Evans the nickname "Chubby". The owner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed by the boy's performances for the customers that he, along with his colleague and friend Kal Mann, who worked as a songwriter for Cameo-Parkway Records, arranged for young Chubby to do a private recording for American Bandstand host Dick Clark. After hearing Chubby's Fats Domino impression, Clark's wife, Barbara, suggested that Chubby be called "Chubby Checker" in homage to him.
Reader's Guide
In December 1958, Checker privately recorded a novelty single for Clark in which the singer portrayed a school teacher with an unruly classroom of musical performers. The premise allowed Checker to imitate such acts as Fats Domino, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole, and The Chipmunks, each 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.
Titled "The Class", the single became Checker's first release, charting at No. 38 in the spring of 1959. Checker introduced his version of "The Twist" at age 18 in July 1960 in Wildwood, New Jersey at the Rainbow Club. The song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 not just once in 1960, but yet again in a separate chart run in late 1961. By 1965 alone, "The Twist" had sold over 15 million copies, and was awarded multiple gold discs by the RIAA.
Despite Checker's initial disapproval, he found follow-up success with a succession of up-tempo dance tracks, including "The Hucklebuck" (No. 14), "The Fly" (No. 7), "Dance the Mess Around" (No. 24), and "Pony Time", which became his second No. 1 single. Checker's follow-up "twist" single, "Let's Twist Again", won the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording. A 1962 duet with Dee Dee Sharp, "Slow Twistin'", reached No. 3 on the national charts.
Other substantial hits included "Dancin' Party", "Popeye the Hitchhiker", "Twenty Miles", "Birdland", "Loddy Lo", and a Christmas duet with Bobby Rydell, "Jingle Bell Rock". "Limbo Rock" reached No. 2 on 22–29 December 1962, becoming Checker's last top 10 hit. Checker continued to have top 40 singles until 1965, his last being "Let's Do the Freddie" (No. 40). Changes in public tastes, owing mostly to the British Invasion and counterculture era, ended his hit-making career. Checker spent much of the rest of the 1960s touring and recording in Europe.
1970s–1990s
In 1971, Checker at his own insistence recorded a psychedelic album filled with music he felt was "current" that was initially only released in Europe. The album flopped. In 1988, Chubby teamed up with hip-hop trio The Fat Boys with their version of "The Twist (Yo, Twist)": this reached No. 2 in the UK. Checker had a single at No. 1 on Billboard's dance chart in July 2008 with "Knock Down the Walls".
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Chubby Checker (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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