{"id":974177,"date":"2026-08-01T20:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/974177\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T20:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:09:16","slug":"on-this-day-in-1960-chubby-checker-entered-the-pop-chart-with-a-hit-masterminded-by-dick-clark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/974177\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in 1960, Chubby Checker Entered the Pop Chart With a Hit Masterminded by Dick Clark"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this day (August 1) in 1960, Chubby Checker<\/a>\u2019s version of \u201cThe Twist\u201d entered the Billboard Hot 100. A little more than a month later, it reached the top of the chart. Then Checker\u2019s label re-released it in late 1961. It went back to the top, where it spent two consecutive weeks. More importantly, the song started a dance craze that spread across the United States and beyond. Later, Checker recorded many \u201cTwist\u201d spinoff songs and other dance-themed singles, which brought him multiple top 40 hits. This all happened because Dick Clark heard a song he believed in and pulled strings to make it a hit.<\/p>\n

Hank Ballard wrote \u201cThe Twist\u201d and recorded it with his band, the Midnighters. After playing the song live several times, he knew it was a hit. However, his label, King Records, didn\u2019t have faith in the song. More specifically, producer Henry Glover didn\u2019t have faith in the song. So, he put it on the B-side of \u201cTeardrops on Your Letter,\u201d which he wrote.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

Ballard\u2019s version of \u201cThe Twist\u201d became a hit. It peaked at No. 28 on the Hot 100 while the A-side missed the top 40. This is where Dick Clark enters the equation.<\/p>\n

The Connection Between Dick Clark and Chubby Checker<\/p>\n

Chubby Checker did his first recording, \u201cThe Class,\u201d for Dick Clark. According to author Jim Dawson\u2019s book<\/a> about \u201cThe Twist,\u201d Clark sent the novelty song out to his friends for Christmas in 1958. The positive response it received led to Checker\u2019s recording contract with Cameo Records.<\/p>\n

Buddy Deane played \u201cThe Twist\u201d on his eponymous dance-party TV show, and it was a hit with dancers and the audience alike, according to Songfacts<\/a>. So, he suggested it to Clark, who was hosting American Bandstand. Clark\u2019s reaction was the opposite of King Records. He knew the song could be a hit. However, he didn\u2019t have much faith in Hank Ballard, who was known for his racier songs.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: \u201cI Cried My Heart Out\u201d: Chubby Checker Recalls Heartbreaking Reaction To Making It Big With \u201cThe Twist\u201d]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Clark delivered the song to Checker, who recorded a nearly identical cover. Five days after the song entered the chart, he performed it on American Bandstand. This gave the single a boost and helped it climb to the top of the Hot 100 for the first time.<\/p>\n

Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On this day (August 1) in 1960, Chubby Checker\u2019s version of \u201cThe Twist\u201d entered the Billboard Hot 100.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":974178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[29],"tags":[20560,78089,171,975,4006,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-974177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1960s","tag-chubby-checker","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-pop-music","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117022070446794032","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=974177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/974178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}