On September 19, 1960, Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Checker’s recording, a cover of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ 1959 R&B song, helped turn an existing dance into one of the defining pop-cultural crazes of the early rock-and-roll era. His energetic version made the Twist easy to recognize, imitate, and share on dance floors, at teen gatherings, and on television.
The Twist’s appeal lay in its relative freedom. Dancers could move apart rather than follow the more formal patterns of conventional partner dancing, making the style easy for newcomers to try and adaptable to different social settings. That accessibility helped the dance spread far beyond its original audience.
“The Twist” also made Billboard history. After reaching No. 1 for one week in September 1960, the record eventually fell off the chart. As the dance craze revived, it returned to the Hot 100 and reclaimed No. 1 on January 13, 1962, remaining there for two weeks. The Library of Congress calls it the only nonseasonal American recording to top Billboard’s pop charts twice in separate runs.
More than a successful single, “The Twist” demonstrated the commercial power of connecting a record to a dance phenomenon and television exposure. Its success helped make dance-driven hits a major feature of 1960s pop culture, and it remains Chubby Checker’s best-known recording.
Image of Chubby Checker doing the twist in the 1960s via Alamy
