Legendary rock and roll artist, Chubby Checker, kicks off Tioga Downs’ summer concert series and is scheduled to perform on Saturday, May 30 at 8 p.m. The “King of the Twist” will perform his most beloved songs, including the number one record of all time, “The Twist.” Tickets for the Chubby Checker show start at $20 and are available at the Tioga Downs Gift Shop and all Ticketmaster locations. For additional information, visit tiogadowns.com. (Provided Photo)
Kicking off Tioga Downs’ summer concert series is a show headlined by legendary rock and roll artist, Chubby Checker, who is scheduled to perform on Saturday, May 30 at 8 p.m.
Chubby Checker, the “King of The Twist,” owns a chapter of rock history. Checker’s phenomenal song, “The Twist,” which exploded on the music scene in 1960, holds the status of being the number one record of all time and also carries the distinction in music history as being the only song ever to hit #1 on the Billboard charts in different years, 1960 and 1962. Checker’s follow-up, “Let’s Twist Again” was a chart topper as well, along with other subsequent hits. Now more than five decades later, the song that transformed the dance floor is still idolized by fans of all ages.
“It’s a song that set the world on fire and put style on the dance floor,” explained Chubby Checker during a phone interview. He added, “‘The Twist’ was the beginning of how we danced.”
Ernest Evans, a.k.a. Chubby Checker, was born in South Carolina and grew up in Philadelphia. While still in school, Chubby worked at a produce market, and from the combined efforts of the storeowner and a friend, Chubby was introduced to a well-known name in Philadelphia music, Dick Clark. While a produce market supervisor gave Chubby his nickname, it was the wife of American Bandstand host, Dick Clark, who came up with Checker. At age 17, Checker’s hit “The Class” was on the Billboard pop chart, and then one year later, the world changed when Checker’s second single took off like a rocket.
The place to be on a Saturday in 1960 was in front of the television watching one of the most popular shows of the day, American Bandstand. Bandstand was also the place to get noticed, and when Chubby Checker performed “The Twist” on the show for the first time, the two minute and 42 second song bulleted to #1.
Checker shared, “Everyone was twisting back then.”
From Mercury astronauts in outer space, television stars, and even President and Mrs. Kennedy, “The Twist” made headlines as people everywhere joined in on the new dance craze.
Couples dancing apart on the dance floor were non-existent before the “The Twist” changed how everyone danced to rock and roll. Checker and the song had a huge impact and influence, and this is an aspect that Checker believes often gets overlooked today. He commented, “That is what is still here today.”
Following “The Twist,” Checker released multiple other tracks and created dances to accompany the songs, including, “The Pony,” “The Fly,” “The Shake” and “The Hucklebuck.”
Checker’s style has impacted dance throughout the decades. “When you dance ‘The Pony’,” Checker explained, “You’re really doing hops and other moves now used in hip-hop.”
Chubby Checker has achieved a number of music milestones. The only artist who has hit the Top 12 album chart with five different albums simultaneously, Checker also had the first platinum record ever by an artist for “Let’s Twist Again,” and was the first to receive a Grammy for the best rock and roll recording of that same song.
“The Twist,” Checker said, “is a gift to me,” and credits Hank Ballard, who wrote and released the song with his group, The Midnighters, prior to Checker. However, it was still Checker who took the song to its record breaking level and created the moves for a dance style still thriving today.
When asked what fans can expect at his May 30 Tioga Downs show, Checker replied, “We’re going to burn it down!” Along with his band, Checker will perform his most beloved songs, as well as his newest release, a powerful ballad called “Changes.”
Checker also shared, “Each show is a memorable show,” meaning that he intends for his fans to remember the fun and the remarkable energy, and believes that they will leave feeling that it was the best show they’ve ever been to.
Tickets for the Chubby Checker show start at $20 and are available at the Tioga Downs Gift Shop and all Ticketmaster locations. For additional information, visit tiogadowns.com.
