01. The Twist 
02. Limbo Rock 
03. Pony Time 
04. Let's Twist Again 
05. Slow Twistin' 
06. The Fly 
07. The Huckle-buck 
08. Loady Lo 
09. Popeye (The Hitchhiker) 
10. Dancin' Party 
11. Twenty Miles 
12. Let's Limbo Some More 
13. Dance The Mess Around 
14. Birdland 
15. Hooka Tooka 
16. Twist It Up 
17. Ann Rosie 
18. Let's Do The Freddie 
19. Hey, Bobba Needle 
20. Mary Ann Limbo

In The early 60's magic was in the air...Hula Hoops...John F. Kennedy...And "The Twist."

1959

Born Ernest Evans, a Young Philadelphian entertainer makes his first appearance on "American Bandstand." Dick Clark's wife, noting a resemblance to another popular singer, Fats Domino, re-names him "Chubby Checker."

1960

A year later, Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe of Cameo/Parkway Records, having seen Chubby Checker's performance, convince him to record a Hank Ballard tune, "The Twist." The rest, as they say, is history. Chubby Checker returns repeatedly to "American Bandstand", and "The Twist" rockets to number on the charts where it remains for 18 weeks.

Combining an R & B musical arrangement with an appealing "Pop" sound, "The Twist" launches a worldwide dance craze and establishes a tradition that reaches from the Watusi of the 60's into discos of the 70's and 80's.

1961-64

"The Twist" remains on the charts for two years, returning, incredibly, to the number one position in January 1962. In the meantime Chubby Checker places 14 songs in the Top Twenty, with 6 songs in the Top Five, including "Pony Time," "Limbo Rock," "Slow Twistin," "The Fly" and of course "The Twist."

No other artist captures the spirit of the dancing 60's like Chubby Checker. This volume captures that magic "Twistin" sound again.

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1. Chubby Checker - Pony Time (2:26)		play
2. Chubby Checker - The Watusi (2:31)
3. Chubby Checker - The Hully Gully (2:32)
4. Chubby Checker - The Stroll (2:30)
5. Chubby Checker - The Mashed Potatoes (2:12)
6. Chubby Checker - Hi Ho Silver (2:31)
7. Chubby Checker - We Like Birdland (2:19)
8. Chubby Checker - Let's Dance, Let's Dance, Let's Dance (2:29)
9. Chubby Checker - The Shimmy (2:07)
10. Chubby Checker - The Charleston (2:15)
11. Chubby Checker - The Mess Around (2:18)
12. Chubby Checker - Pony Express (2:19)
13. Chubby Checker - I Could Have Danced All Night (2:13)
14. Chubby Checker - The Jet (2:08)
15. Chubby Checker - Continental Walk (2:23)
16. Chubby Checker - I Almost Lost My Mind (3:01)
17. Chubby Checker - Fishin' (2:28)
18. Chubby Checker - Quarter To Three (2:17)
19. Chubby Checker - Let's Twist Again (2:21)	play
20. Chubby Checker - Ballin' The Jack (2:22)
21. Chubby Checker - Peanut Butter
22. Chubby Checker - The Ray Charles(Ton)
23. Chubby Checker - Takes Two To Tango
24. Chubby Checker - Dance-A-Long

Chubby Checker was no rock ‘n’ roll pioneer or R&B innovator but he knew how to have fun singing about dancing apart to the beat. With a little help from locally based hitmaker Dick Clark and his nationwide television show American Bandstand, the 17-year-old former chicken plucker from Philadelphia recorded a virtual carbon copy of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ ‘58 B-side “The Twist” and gyrated himself to the top of the US charts in the summer of 1960 - - losing a good 30 pounds in 14 months getting down at personal appearances.

Checker was and is a consummate showman. Subsequently crowned the “King of the Twist” by label and press alike, Checker went on to record a string of variations on a common theme throughout the early ‘60s—such as “Slow Twistin’”, “Twist It Up”, “Twistin’ U.S.A, “Mister Twister”, “Twistin’ Around the World”, “Love Is Like a Twist”, “Peppermint Twist”, them “Twistin’ Bones”, and “Let’s Twist Again” (you get the picture) for Cameo-Parkway. And when he needed a break from twistin’, you can bet there were plenty of other dances to sing about, including a standout swinging interpretation of Don Covay’s “Pony Time”.

Both It’s Pony Time and Let’s Twist Again were released during the height of the novelty song dance craze in ‘61, and are two of Checker’s most musically ambitious albums. For instance, It’s Pony Time bucks the trend with not one of its 12 dance numbers mentioning the Twist in their titles—the lyrics are another matter entirely—while Let’s Twist Again offers the singer a chance to wrap his vocal chords around exceptional covers of bluesman Ivory Joe Hunter’s “I Almost Lost My Mind”, a street corner harmony update of Pearl Bailey’s salacious ‘52 Coral recording “Takes Two to Tango”, and to give the show tune “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady a Marcels-style doo-wop makeover.

Yet, like all Checker’s albums, even these two very fine records will wear down the most resilient ‘60s teen-pop fan through repeat listens. For some, just putting these two albums together in one package may very well prove too much of a challenge. Listening to one polished song after another just magnifies their structural similarities, where reusing the same chords, beats, and words was commonplace, reminding us that Motown was not the only hit factory supplying the charts with a steady stream of product for the kids.

Having said that, a great number of these fun songs have stood the test of time and are worth forming a “big boss line” for, such as “The Watusi”, “Dance the Mess Around”, Checker’s cover of Gary “US” Bond’s “Quarter to Three”, and the “Continental Walk”. To paraphrase the big man himself—it’s cherry-pickin’ time! Maybe thanks to individual downloads and shuffle mode, twistin’ fever threatens to infect a new generation. ---Alan Brown, popmatters.com

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 1. I Could Have Danced All Night 2:08
 2. The Jet 2:08
 3. Continental Walk 2:20
 4. I Almost Lost My Mind 2:54
 5. Fishin' 2:20
 6. Quarter To Three 2:14
 7. Let's Twist Again 2:16					play
 8. Ballin' The Jack 2:19
 9. Peanut Butter 2:20
10. The Ray Charles-Ton 2:22				play
11. Takes Two To Tango 1:59 
12. Dance-A-Long 2:38  2:38

Ernest Evans was born in Spring Gulley, South Carolina, but grew up in South Philadelphia, where he lived with his parents and two brothers. When he was a small boy, his mother took him to see Sugar Child Robinson, a child piano prodigy and also the famous country singer Ernest Tubb. Young Evans was so impressed, that he vowed to someday enter show business and took his first step toward that goal by forming a street corner harmony group when he was only 11 years old.

By the time he entered high school, Ernest had learned to play the piano a little at Settlement Music School and could do a number of vocal impressions. He also went to South Philadelphia High School with his friend Fabian Forte, who would have show business success of his own. He entertained classmates whenever he could. After school, Chubby would sing and crack jokes at his various jobs including Fresh Farm Poultry on 9th Street and at the Produce Market. It was Ernest's boss at the Produce Market, Tony A., who gave Ernest the nickname "Chubby".

The storeowner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed, he began showing off his employee to his customers through a loud speaker. Henry and his friend Kal-Mann arranged for young Chubby to do a private recording for Dick Clark. A Yuletide novelty tune called, "Jingle Bells" on which Chubby did several impressions of top recording stars, was cut. Dick Clark sent it out as a Christmas greeting to all of his friends and associates in the music business. Cameo-Parkway liked it so much that they wrote a song called "The Class" and it became Chubby's first hit in early 1959.

In June of 1959, Chubby recorded "The Twist". Bernie Lowe, president of Cameo Parkway records was not initially impressed with Chubby's recording and felt it may be a "B" side at best. However, Chubby felt "The Twist" was something special and worked hard promoting the record by undertaking non-stop rounds of TV dates, interviews and live performances. Fourteen months later, in the summer of 1960, "The Twist" was a hit.

"The Twist" was not only the #1 song but it introduced the concept of "dancing apart to the beat". Over the next few years, endless songs incorporating "The Twist" into its name sprang up such as "Peppermint Twist", "Twist and Shout" and "Twistin' the Night Away". In addition, each new song brought a new dance involving "dancing apart to the beat" such as "The Jerk", "The Hully Gully", "The Boogaloo" and "The Shake". At the forefront was Chubby with "The Fly", "The Pony" and "The Hucklebuck".

The next few years were prolific for Chubby as hit followed hit. In 1961, Chubby recorded "Pony Time" written by Don Covay and John Berry. It went to #1 and stayed on the charts for 16 weeks. In between recording and touring, Chubby took time to add feature films to his portfolio with the releases of "Don't Knock The Twist" and "Twist Around The Clock".

In the fall of 1961, record industry history was made when Checker's original hit record, "The Twist", re-entered the charts and by January of 1962, it was back in the #1 position. No other record before or since has accomplished that feat. Combining its 1960 run with its 1961/62 return, "The Twist" spent an amazing nine month total on the U. S. best seller charts.

Chubby Checker merchandise was everywhere, and included T-shirts, shoes, ties, dolls, raincoats, and chewing gum. His success continued for years with the release of one dance record after another, with "The Fly" and "Let's Twist Again", for which he won a Grammy for the "Best Rock Performance". More hit records followed. "Slow Twistin'", Dancin' Party", "Popeye the Hitchhiker" and "The Limbo Rock" all came along in 1962.

1963 saw Checker return to the hit parade with "Birdland" and "Twist It Up", after which he followed with "Loddy Lo" and a series of other novelty type tunes. Eventually, teens incorporated these movements to all songs that had a beat and called these movements "The Boogie", a permanent fixture in Rock and Roll and popular Music 24/7. While hits kept coming, the highlight of 1964 was Chubby's marriage to Catharina Lodders, Miss World 1962.

In 2000, Chubby branched out into the snack food business commemorating 40 years of "The Twist" with Chocolate Checker Bars, Beef Jerky, Hot Dogs, and Popcorn, all to be washed down with Girl of the World Water (dedicated to his wife).

Today, Chubby continues 40 years of live performances while releasing new studio music. His Maxi-Single "Limbo Rock Re-Mixes" and CD "The Original Master of the Dance Hall Beat" by Chubby C & OD, featuring Inner Circle, were both on the Billboard Charts attracting a new generation of Chubby Checker fans.

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01. Dancin' Party 
02. The Twist 
03. Toot 
04. The Class 
05. Twistin' U.S.A. 
06. The Hucklebuck 
07. Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On 
08. Pony Time 							play
09. Dance The Mess Around 
10. Good, Good Lovin' 
11. Let's Twist Again 
12. The Fly 
13. Slow Twistin' 
14. Popeye The Hitchhiker 
15. Limbo Rock 							play
16. Let's Limbo Some More 
17. Hooka Tooka 
18. Loddy Lo 
19. Hey, Bobba Needle 
20. Birdland 
21. Surf Party 
22. Twist It Up 
23. Twistin' Round The World 
24. Jingle Bell Rock (& Bobby Rydell) 

Personnel:
Chubby Checker  - Vocals
Fred Bender, Roy Stragis – Keyboards
Dan Dailey, Fred Nuzzullio, Buddy Savitt, Georgie Young – Saxophone
Bobby Gregg  - Drums
Dave Appell, Joe Renzetti, Joe Sgro – Guitar
Joe Macho – Bass
Bobby Rydell, Dee Dee Sharp – Vocals
Joe Sher, Ellis Tollin – Drums

For a variety of reasons, all of the recordings for Cameo Parkway remained out of circulation until 2005, when Abkco finally unveiled the catalog, first as a box set called Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 in the spring, then as a series of individual artist compilations in the fall. Of those, the most eagerly-awaited collection was the one spotlighting Chubby Checker, since he was the biggest star on the label and the guy that got America twisting in the early '60s. Checker might have had big hits, but his compilation, The Best of Chubby Checker: Cameo Parkway 1959-1963, is musically the thinnest of all the Cameo Parkway titles released in 2005. Checker wasn't much of a vocalist -- he got his break because he was an excellent mimic, capable of imitating such early rock & rollers as Fats Domino quite expertly (born Ernest Evans, the singer even played off Domino's name when he came up with an alias for the stage).

His first big break was "The Class," where he did impressions of Fats, Elvis and, bizarrely, the Chipmunks, but his big hit came when he did a song-length impression of Hank Ballard doing "The Twist" in 1960. As Jeff Tamarkin points out in his good liner notes to this compilation, Chubby's version of "The Twist" was "virtually identical to Ballard's," but Checker and Cameo Parkway were based in Philadelphia, the home of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, where the singer and the song got enormous exposure. After it became a huge national hit, Checker and Cameo Parkway went back to the well numerous times -- "Twistin' USA," "Let's Twist Again," a version of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" that contains all of Jerry Lee Lewis' ad-libs, yet Chubby sings "whole lotta twistin' goin' on" -- before the craze died down a bit. Once that happened, there were other dances to do -- "The Hucklebuck," "Pony Time" -- which also produced several sound-alike records from Checker himself before "The Twist" came back, prompting another round of twist songs, like "Slow Twistin'." Then, Checker had another dance craze with "Limbo Rock" (predictably followed by "Let's Limbo Some More"), before he had a brief phase as a folk-pop singer pitched halfway between Harry Belafonte and the Rooftop Singers. When that ran dry, it was back to the Twist ("Twist It Up," "Twistin' Round the World"), before he parted ways with the label and slowly receded to the oldies circuit.

What ties all this music together, even the folk excursion, was that it was lightweight dance music and, when taken together as a full album, it gets to be a little bit much. Checker sings each song the same way, the beats are all the same, and often the songs recycle the same chords, sometimes even the word and hooks. This was music that was meant to exist in the moment and decades later, it sounds trapped in that moment -- it hasn't aged as well as the best rock & roll of the early '60s, not even the novelties. Checker doesn't have forgotten classics -- even some of hits wear out their welcome quickly -- so this will wear out its welcome quickly for all but those that have a high tolerance for his work, or have a great nostalgia for this time. For those listeners, this is a good compilation -- the sound is good, the notes are good and at 24 tracks, this is quite generous -- but all other listeners will find that Checker's hits are better heard on the Cameo Parkway set, where they're balanced by other, better singles in the same vein. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

The wait is over. This collection brings us the official release of the original Parkway recordings of one of the era's most successful male solo artists. The set consists of 24 tracks total, all in mono, including 22 that hit the Hot 100. Missing are three top 40 hits ("Twenty Miles" that peaked at #15 in 1963, "Lazy Elsie Molly" that peaked at #40 in July of 1964, and "Let's Do the Freddie" that hit #40 in May of 1965). However, the b-side to the original release of "The Twist" along with one album cut are thrown in. The tracks are not in chronological order, but the digital sound is supreme. A four page essay (written by Jeff Tamarkin, who also authored the essay for the Cameo Parkway box set released in May 2005) plus five pages of credits and chart info detail the career of the former chicken plucker turned king of the dance crazes. Most fans and collectors will be satisfied (you can't beat the price). Highly recommended. --- S. Paradoa, amazon.com

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1. Twistin’ Round The World (in French) 2:38			play
2. La Paloma Twist (in Spanish) 2:13
3. Hava Nagila (in Hebrew) 2:06
4. Twist mit mir (in German) 2:43
5. Never On Sunday (in Greek) 3:06
6. Twist Marie (in Italian) 2:14
7. Let’s Twist Again (in German) 2:20					play
8. Twistin’ Matilda (in English) 2:38
9. O Sole Mio (in Italian) 2:42
10. Tea For Two (in English) 2:15
11. Alouette (in French) 2:01
12. Misirlou (in Spanish) 2:45

Having Chubby Checker sing variations on "The Twist" theme in different languages was a brilliant marketing move when ABBA's multi-lingual success is observed in retrospect, and while Madonna and Barry Manilow might have made bigger splashes with "La Isla Bonita" and "En el Copa" respectively, none of them got this adventurous. Sure, it looks like Cameo-Parkway kept their big hit singer typecast, but Checker, aka Ernest Evans, racked up 23 hits from 1959-1988, and despite this appearing to be all marketing, it works years later as a charming combination of performances by an underrated artist. "Tea for Two" is great adult contemporary and shows what a smooth and appealing voice this singer owns. "Alouette," for "all you twisters," is a stretch, and it is in English and French, but in some strange way it works too.

Chubby Checker in performance is an amazing act, and the production by songwriter Kal Mann with Dave Appell is solid as a rock. Covering the favorite melody of Elvis Presley, "O Sole Mio," which "the King" turned into "It's Now or Never," is also engaging, with its half Italian/half English, unlike the Beatles when they did full translations of their originals from English to German. "Twistin' Round the World," the title track, throws a little nod to the Beach Boys with a "twistin' U.S.A." line thrown in for good measure, but it's half English, half French. The pronunciation might've started to wear on Checker, as his French sounds like it's flavored with German inflections. "Let's Twist (A La Paloma)" has enough Anglo-Saxon to keep the U.S. audience happy; it's half Spanish with musical flavors from south of the border. This is quite a fun record from Chubby Checker. His version of "Hava Nagela" sounds pretty authentic, but he veers off of the Hebrew here, too, to sing some lines familiar to people only familiar with the language of his hits, English. Maybe mixing two languages isn't a bad thing -- it's certainly innovative and isn't as much a jolt to Checker's fan base as, say, Captain & Tenille's Love Will Keep Us Together album, recorded entirely in Spanish, was to theirs. As for the performance on disc, as usual, Chubby Checker delivers. --- Joe Viglione, allmusic.com

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