The hero of this article is Chubby Checker, singer, composer and dancer. In the early sixties, when Elvis Presley stopped recording new songs due to his departure to the army, this artist instead of him became the real king of rock and roll, or rather, a softer version of it - a twist.
Youth
Ernest Evans - the parents named the future singer. He grew up in South Philadelphia. Since childhood, the boy fell in love with music and was keenly interested in all of its new products. At the age of 8, he organized his first ensemble, which performed on the streets, performing polyphonic compositions.
While at school, Chubby Checker entertained his classmates with vocal improvisations on topics of popular hits of the time. One of his school friends, Fabian Forte, also became a popular singer, whose career peak was in the late fifties - early sixties.
Nickname
After leaving school, Evans got a job at a record store, where he also did not miss the opportunity to sing his favorite songs. Many visited this place only for his impromptu performances, which were also accompanied by sparkling jokes of the young artist. The store director gave him the nickname Chubby, which means “fat man.” Another acquaintance was so amazed at his vocal abilities that he organized his speech on the then-popular television show.
It was on the record of this program that Evans got his stage name. The wife of the radio host asked what his name was. “My friends call me“ Fatty, ”he replied cheerfully. Since he looked very much like another big-sized singer, Fats Domino (Fat Domino), the girl immediately came up with the funny nickname Chubby Checker (Fat Shashka). the singer began to use this pseudonym.
First hit
Presenter Dick Clark asked Chubby Checker to record a comic song for the Christmas release of the program. The composition was called Class. It describes a class consisting of naughty students such as Fats Domino, Elvis Presley and others. Chubby sang with the voices of these stars a children's comic song "Mary has a little lamb."
Clark liked this parody so much that he sent the recording to his friend, a major producer. He listened to the record and immediately invited the performer to sign a contract with him. The song "Class" was released as a single in 1959 and reached high positions in the American charts.
Twist
In 1962, the 18-year-old performer recorded his version of the song “Twist” from Hank Ballard’s repertoire. The single became the greatest hit, having twice hit the Billboard magazine hit parade (in various categories). Before him, only Bing Crosby was able to achieve this with the song White Christmas. With this song, Chubby Checker performed on the Dick Clark show. Performing it, he went on stage accompanied by a group of teenagers who danced a twist, which became popular thanks to the singer.
Chubby Checker's next big success was another song in the same style. The song Let`s Twist Again earned him a Gremi award for Best Solo Rock Performance.
By the mid-sixties, the twist went out of fashion, because Chubby Checker's new songs were no longer as popular as his early works. But the artist still toured a lot. In Europe, at his concerts there was always a full house.
In 1971, the singer made an attempt to record an album in an unusual style for him. Chubby Checker's album, Checkered, consisted of songs in the psychedelic rock genre.
All songs were written by the artist himself. Chubby worked on this disc with former producer Jimmy Hendrix.
Repeated Triumph
In the late 2000s, a triumphant return of Chubby Checker to the American charts. In 2007, he released a single entitled Knock Down The Walls, which reached number one on Billboard Magazine's chart. Wishbone Ash guitarist Roger Filgate participated in the recording of this composition.
In 2009, Chubby Checker (photo in the article) participated in the recording of social advertising.
In 2013, a new work of the singer appeared. This time it was the melodic ballad of Changes.