The Twist (song)

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“The Twist”
Single by Chubby Checker
B-side	"Toot" (1960) "Twistin' USA" (1961)
Released	July 1960
Format	7", 45rpm
Label	Parkway Records 811
Writer(s)	Hank Ballard
Chubby Checker singles chronology
"Dancing Dinosaur" (1960) "The Twist" (1960) "The Hucklebuck" (1960)
Audio sample
Info (help·info)

"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twist dance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side (to “Teardrops on Your Letter”) but was a minor hit. The song, and the dance the Twist, was popularized in 1960 when the song was covered by Chubby Checker. His single became a smash hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19 in 1960 (one week), and then setting a record by being the only single to reach number one in two different chart runs when it resurfaced and topped the chart again on January 13, 1962 (two weeks).

In 1988, the song "The Twist" became popular once again, due to a new recording of the song by The Fat Boys featuring Chubby Checker. This version reached number two in the United Kingdom and number one in Germany.

Checker re-recorded the song numerous times. An updated 1982 recording (from his album The Change Has Come) was retitled "T-82", and in the 1990s, he recorded a country version. In the late 1970s, he recorded a new version that, except for the sound mix and some minor arrangement changes, was identical to the 1960 original; as a result this later version is often misidentified on compilations as the original recording. Checker also recorded variations on the theme, such as "Let's Twist Again (Like We Did Last Summer)" to keep the craze alive (although "Let's Twist Again" was and has remained more popular than "The Twist" itself in the United Kingdom).

The song is featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack released May 1, 2007. this song was also in the 2008 daytona 500

[edit] Quotations

• "Come on, baby, let's do the twist!"
• "Take the world by the hand and do the twist!" - line from The Fat Boys' version

[edit] Editions

• USA: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: “Teardrops on Your Letter” b/w "The Twist" 1959
• USA: Chubby Checker: “The Twist” b/w “Toot” Parkway 811; 7/60
• USA: Chubby Checker: “The Twist” b/w “Twistin' USA” Parkway 811; 11/61

[edit] External links

• http://www.chubbychecker.com/discography.pdf Chubby Checker discography