Ten More Songs You May Not Know Are Covers: The Twist (#2)

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I'm getting close to the end of another list of songs that may not be recognized as being covers. I didn't think there were any major "shocks" on this list, unlike the first one. I guess I wouldn't make a good poker player, because I played my best hand first! Oh, well, here's today's song. #2: The Twist "The Twist" and "Chubby Checker" are synonymous. Born Ernest Evans in Philadelphia, Chubby Checker's 1960 hit inspired a dance craze. And when he sang, "Come on baby, let's do the twist," everybody did it: black, white, young, old. The people who had badmouthed Elvis three years earlier were throwing their backs out doing the twist. And, of course, as I'm highlighting the song here, Chubby wasn't the first person to suggest that we twist. A year before Chubby Checker and "The Twist" became household words Hank Ballard, the great R&B singer-songwriter who gave us songs like "Finger Popping Time" and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go," wrote and recorded "The Twist." Believe it or not, it even made the Billboard top 30. All of that fell by the wayside when Chubby twisted in 1960. Hank Ballard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He died of cancer in 2003. Chubby Checker is still twisting. The Twist Written by Hank Ballard Originally recorded by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, 1959 Famously covered by Chubby Checker, 1960 Come on, baby, let's do the original twist!